Underground Coal Mining: Relationship between Coal Dust Levels and Pneumoconiosis, in Two Regions of Colombia, 2014

Prevalence of coal worker's pneumoconiosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Global prevalence trend and regional differences of coal worker's pneumoconiosis (CWP) remain unclear. This study aimed to provide systematic and comprehensive evidence for the global prevalence of CWP. Literature research for studies that reported prevalence of CWP was conducted in PubMed, CNKI, and Web of Science. The identified studies were strictly screened according to predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The pooled prevalence of CWP in different periods and regions was calculated. A total of 37 studies were included after screening, and data from the Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program was additionally included in the meta-analysis. The global pooled prevalence of CWP decreased from 23.33% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 18.03%, 28.62%) before 1970 to 6.00% (95% CI: 4.11%, 7.90%) in 1981-1990, but indicated a rebound (10.35%, 95% CI: 8.08%, 12.62%) in 1991-2000 and finally dropped to 2.29% (95% CI: 2.06%, 2.51%) in 2011-2020. In the recent 30 years, the top three pooled prevalence of CWP was found in Europe, China, and the USA, respectively. Few articles have reported the prevalence in developing regions, but available evidence indicated that the prevalence in developing regions was much higher than that in developed regions. Higher pooled prevalence was observed in studies which reported larger number of miners in collieries, older average age of miners, underground collieries, and longer dust exposure time. The global prevalence of CWP indicates a rebound in 1990s, but the overall trend is downward in the recent 60 years. The prevention and treatment of CWP should be currently emphasized in developing countries.

Respiratory health and silicosis in artisanal mine workers in southern Brazil

BACKGROUND

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) are an important source of employment in southern Brazil. Mining workers are frequently exposed to unhealthy work conditions which increase the risk of occupational diseases. In this study, we assessed the association of sociodemographic factors and the occupational history of artisanal mining workers with the risk of adverse respiratory outcomes.

METHODS

The study was conducted with 258 artisanal mining workers in southern Brazil, who were exposed to dust (mainly crystalline silica) in their work. Information on sociodemographic variables and occupational histories was collected between 2017 and 2018. To estimate the worker's exposure to inhalable dust we use the Advanced REACH (Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals) Tool (ART).

RESULTS

Study participants were all men, with an average age of 40 years. Median crude dust exposure estimated by ART was 13.2 mg/m³ and median crude crystalline silica exposure was 1.6 mg/m³ . The prevalence ratio (PR) for self-reported silicosis was 3.08 (95% confidence interval, 1.39-7.17) in workers with 20 years or more of mining work. Factors associated with silicosis were age, pack-years of tobacco use, and body mass index. Smokers were over twice as likely to report respiratory symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings indicate that a high prevalence of silicosis and other associated diseases in mining workers is associated with both unhealthy work environment conditions and the health profile of workers. This study is an important step for understanding health outcomes from work in ASM.

A Systematic Review on the Research Progress and Evolving Trends of Occupational Health and Safety Management: A Bibliometric Analysis of Mapping Knowledge Domains

Background: Effective occupational health and safety management (OHSM) is important to employee health, enterprise sustainability, and social stability. However, scientific research into OHSM lags behind practice, and contextualizing OHSM research from the perspective of its historical evolution is urgently required.

Methods: The mapping of knowledge domains, based on bibliometric analysis, was adopted to classify 4,852 journal articles related to OHSM listed in the core database of Web of Science and published between 1900 and 2018.

Results and Conclusions: Risk assessment/management at the organizational level were found to have always been research hotspots, and the relationship between safety culture/atmosphere, sickness absence, and safety performance, among other factors, have become core research topics in the field in recent years. Research at the individual level has gradually evolved from an early focus on physiological problems such as work-related musculoskeletal disorders and low back pain, further toward issues such as occupational stress, mental health, and quality of life. In addition, the results of clustering analysis based on high-frequency keywords indicated six aspects of OHSM: OHSM mode and method; OHSM systems and standards; OHS risk assessment and management; OHSM and safety culture; mental health and quality of life; and specific disease management. Future development trends in OHSM research are described providing theoretical and practical reference for further study.

Prevalence of pneumoconiosis and spirometric findings in underground mining workers in Cundinamarca, Colombia

Introduction: Coal worker’s pneumoconiosis is caused by the inhalation of coal dust and its accumulation in the lungs after several years of exposure.Objective: To determine the prevalence of pneumoconiosis in underground mining workers exposed to coal dust in Cundinamarca, Colombia, and its association with their spirometry results and respiratory symptoms.Materials and methods: Cross-sectional study conducted on 215 workers who were administered a questionnaire on respiratory symptoms. For each worker a chest radiograph was taken according to the criteria of the International Labor Organization. Information on the workers’ socio-demographic characteristics, smoking habits, and spirometry results was included.Results: The average age was 45.5 ± 9.4 years and the average length of employment was 21.7±10.0 years. Expectoration was the symptom most frequently reported (73.5%). Regarding spirometry results, a normal pattern was observed in 89.8% of the sample, while obstructive and restrictive patterns were found in 5.1% and 3.7% of the subjects, and 0.5% had a peripheral airways dysfunction pattern. The prevalence of pneumoconiosis was 42.33%. FEV1/FVC ratio (81.75 vs. 83.74, p=0.045) and FF25-75% (84.96 vs. 91.95, p<0.001) mean values were significantly lower in workers with pneumoconiosis.Conclusion: Pneumoconiosis was highly prevalent in the study population and its diagnosis was associated with spirometry results (FEV1/FVC and FEF25.75%); bearing in mind that currently there are not effective treatments for this disease, it is necessary to implement control and prevention strategies aimed at reducing occupational exposure to coal dust and, this way, prevent its occurrence.

Focusing on the premature death of redeployed miners in China: an analysis of cause-of-death information from non-communicable diseases

Background

Reducing premature deaths is an important step towards achieving the World Health Organization’s sustainable development goal. Redeployed miners are more prone to disease or premature death due to the special occupational characteristics. Our aims were to describe the deaths of redeployed miners, assess the losses due to premature death and identify their main health problems. All the records of individuals were obtained from Fuxin Mining Area Social Security Administration Center. Year of life lost (YLL) and average year of life lost were used to assess the loss due to premature death. YLL rates per 1000 individuals were considered to compare deaths from different populations.

Results

Circulatory system diseases contributed the most years of life lost in the causes of death, followed by neoplasms. But average year of life lost in neoplasms was 6.85, higher than circulatory system diseases, 5.63. Cerebrovascular disease and ischemic heart disease were the main causes of death in circulatory system diseases. And average years of life lost in cerebrovascular disease and ischemic heart disease were 5.85 and 5.62, higher than those in other circulatory system diseases. Lung cancer was the principal cause of death in neoplasms. Average year of life lost in liver cancer was 7.92, the highest in neoplasms.

Conclusions

For redeployed miners, YLL rates per 1000 individuals in cerebrovascular disease, ischemic heart disease and lung cancer were higher than those in other populations, especially in men. It is important to attach importance to the health of redeployed miners, take appropriate measures to reduce premature death and achieve the sustainable development goal. Our findings also contribute to a certain theoretical reference for other countries that face or will face the same problem.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12992-019-0450-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

TNFR/TNF-α signaling pathway regulates apoptosis of alveolar macrophages in coal workers' pneumoconiosis

We explored the role of TNFR/TNF-α signalingin apoptosis among alveolar macrophages (AM) and its relevance to the development of coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP). Purified alveolar macrophages (AMs) were prepared from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid harvested from 366 CWP patients and 120 healthy subjects enrolled inthe study. The purified AMs were then divided into control, SOD, anti-TNFR, TNFR and NFkB inhibitor groups and analyzed for apoptosis usingflow cytometry (sub-diploid peak) and western blotting (Bcl-2, Caspase-3 and Caspase-8 expression). We found thatAM apoptosis washigher amongCWP patients than thehealthycontrols. Expression ofBcl-2, Caspase-3 and Caspase-8 was higher inAMs from CWP patientsthan in those from the controlsand correlated with increased AM apoptosis. Univariate and multivariate analyses suggested that CWP grade, initial exposure time, exposure time inyears, and CWP onset agewereall associated with altered levels of Bcl-2, Caspase-3 and Caspase-8. Inhibition of TNFR/TNF-α signaling usinganti-TNFR antibody, SOD or NFkB inhibitionreduced AM apoptosisand decreased Bcl-2, Caspase-3 and Caspase-8 expression. These data suggestinhibition of a TNFR/TNF-α signaling pathway is a potentiallyeffective means ofalleviating CWP by inhibiting AM apoptosis.

Clinical statistics analysis on the characteristics of pneumoconiosis of Chinese miner population

BACKGROUND

Pneumoconiosis is one of the most common occupational diseases, which shows the progressive and irreversible pathological changes. It ultimately can induce pulmonary failure and lead to death. To date, these patients have no curative treatment option under the current standard of care, so it is especially important to delay the onset of the disease and slow down its progression. Therefore, understanding of clinical features of pneumoconiosis is particularly critical for medical intervention.

METHODS

We collected the clinical data from 118 pneumoconiosis cases of miners admitted in hospital and processed the statistics analysis by using the Chi-square test and the risk assessment.

RESULTS

Compared to other types of miners, gold miners are liable to cause Broncho-pulmonary co-infection with Chi-square value 18.748 and the P value <0.001. However, unexpectedly, the smoking miners displayed a better Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) compared to non-smokers, which showed 19.318 of Chi-square score and less than 0.001 of P value. And this connection was associated with the dust exposure time (P<0.05), showing the increasing risk of non-smoking miners occurred as the increasing time exposed to dust. In addition, our analysis indicated that the probability of smoking miners suffered from Broncho-pulmonary co-infection was less than non-smoking miners with Chi-square value 8.044 and P<0.01, which was also associated with the dust exposure time tendentiously, though P>0.05. Moreover, smoking history exhibited a deteriorating effect to the overall survival (OS) with 9.546 of Chi-square value and P<0.05, in accordance with smoking reducing life time. Interestingly, pneumoconiosis drugs could extend the smokers' OS, but not non-smokers'.

CONCLUSIONS

Our studies suggest that the history of smoking and exposure time of dust play important roles in the development of pneumoconiosis and smoking could be a factor that determines the treatment options depending on patients' smoking history.