<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<bold>Background</bold>: Historically, silicosis is a disease of miners, but the last decade witnessed outbreaks in occupational settings not traditionally associated with silica exposure. Evidence from other countries may ground awareness and control of re-emergent risks.
<bold>Methods</bold>: Incident cases of occupational diseases, ranking and trends were analysed within 2012-2016, respectively within 2007-2016 for silicosis using a cross-national comparative study. Labor force profile and occupation were additional data used to identify similarities and differences between Romania and Israel. The incidence rates for silicosis extracted from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 were compared to national, continental, and global level.
<bold>Results</bold>: Between the two countries, the ratio was 1:1.5 for musculoscheletal disorders, 1:3 for respiratory diseases, 1:4 for noise-induced hearing loss, and 1:10 for silicosis. Regarding silicosis, three major diffences were found, namely: the burden of disease, the trend of incidence (ascending in Israel; descending in Romania), and the occupational setting (coal miner in Romania; artificial stone worker in Israel). Globally, Romania was among countries with high incidence of silicosis in 2017.
<bold>Conclusion</bold>: Silicosis was a national issue of concern at the time, but vigilance should continue, given the severity of this disease and the occurrence of other silica-related diseases.
</abstract>

Background: Historically, silicosis is a disease of miners, but the last decade witnessed outbreaks in occupational settings not traditionally associated with silica exposure. Evidence from other countries may ground awareness and control of re-emergent risks.
Methods: Incident cases of occupational diseases, ranking and trends were analysed within 2012-2016, respectively within 2007-2016 for silicosis using a cross-national comparative study. Labor force profile and occupation were additional data used to identify similarities and differences between Romania and Israel. The incidence rates for silicosis extracted from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 were compared to national, continental, and global level.
Results: Between the two countries, the ratio was 1:1.5 for musculoscheletal disorders, 1:3 for respiratory diseases, 1:4 for noise-induced hearing loss, and 1:10 for silicosis. Regarding silicosis, three major diffences were found, namely: the burden of disease, the trend of incidence (ascending in Israel; descending in Romania), and the occupational setting (coal miner in Romania; artificial stone worker in Israel). Globally, Romania was among countries with high incidence of silicosis in 2017.
Conclusion: Silicosis was a national issue of concern at the time, but vigilance should continue, given the severity of this disease and the occurrence of other silica-related diseases.

A cross-national perspective on silicosis: incidence, occupational settings, and trends

“Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy

“Lucian Blaga” University, Faculty of Medicine

“Vasile Goldis” West University of Arad

Romanian Journal of Occupational Medicine

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Background: Historically, silicosis is a disease of miners, but the last decade witnessed outbreaks in occupational settings not traditionally associated with...

A cross-national perspective on silicosis: incidence, occupational settings, and trends

Published Online: Dec 14, 2023

Page range: 6 - 11

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rjom-2023-0001

Keywords
occupational disease, silicosis, national, global

© 2023 Florina Georgeta Popescu et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

A cross-national perspective on silicosis: incidence, occupational settings, and trends

Published Online: Dec 14, 2023

Page range: 6 - 11

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rjom-2023-0001

Keywordsoccupational disease, silicosis, national, global

© 2023 Florina Georgeta Popescu et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
occupational disease, silicosis, national, global