Descriptive characteristics of coal miner's pneumoconiosiscases

Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the descriptive characteristics of coal miners diagnosed with pneumoconiosis at Zonguldak Uzunmehmet Chest Diseases and Occupational Diseases Hospital between 2020 and 2023 (first 6 months). Material and Method: The study population consists of 293 mine workers diagnosed with coal miner pneumoconiosis between January 1, 2020, and June 30, 2023. All coal miners diagnosed with pneumoconiosis during the specified years were included in the study. Data were obtained by examining registered patient files in the order of application from the archives of Zonguldak Uzunmehmet Chest Diseases and Occupational Diseases Hospital, sorted by the time of diagnosis. The data content includes worker age, presenting complaint, duration of employment, smoking status, history of tuberculosis, chronic diseases, ILO classification, and interpretation of respiratory function tests. Results: The mean age of the 293 workers in our study is 53.6±11.9. The majority of the workers belong to the 45-54 age group. Most of the workers, all of whom are male, have a work history of 11-20 years. According to the data, 59% of the workers are active smokers, 4.4% have a history of tuberculosis, and 30% have chronic diseases. Among the records, 45.4% of the workers have no presenting complaints. Examination results show that 90.1% have normal breath sounds. According to the results of respiratory function tests, 47.4% have normal findings. According to the ILO classification based on lung X-ray examination results, 'p' type opacity is most commonly observed, accounting for 82.25%. The dominant subcategory in terms of opacity density is 1/1 with a rate of 47.44%. According to the information obtained from the records, 25.6% of the workers are at an advanced stage of pneumoconiosis at the time of diagnosis, while the remaining 73.4% are at a simple level. There is a significant relationship between the workers' pneumoconiosis level and their age group at diagnosis and smoking status. No significant relationship was found regarding the workers' history of tuberculosis. Conclusion: Coal worker pneumoconiosis remains a significant issue among occupational diseases in our country. Further studies are needed to assess the situation in this regard. The findings of our study have contributed to the evaluation of coal worker pneumoconiosis cases in our country. Key Words: public health, occupational health and safety, occupational disease, coal worker pneumoconiosis,