Predictive risk factors for development of silicosis in Turkish ceramic workers

Introduction: Silicosis is still one of the the most common occupational disease in the world. The ceramic industry is one of the main sectors where silicosis patients are increasingly reported. The aim of this study was to evaluate the differences in demographic characteristics, radiological findings and pulmonary function test results of the ceramic workers with silicosis and those did not develop the disease. Materials and Methods: A total of 626 workers, 459 with silicosis and 167 without silicosis, working in the ceramics industry those admitted to Ankara Occupational and Environmental Diseases Hospital between 2009 and 2018 were included in the study. The cases were evaluated retrospectively. Results: The median age and duration of work of the workers with silicosis were significantly higher (p< 0.001) compared to workers without silicosis. The risk of silicosis was found to be 22.5 times higher in 50 years or older age. Working 11-20 years and more than 20 years increased the risk of silicosis by 3.1 fold and 3.9 fold respectively. Smoking more than 10 package-years was found to increase the risk of silicosis 2 fold. The workers who had worked in clay processing, sanding, glazing or smelting were found to have 5.2-fold, 3.8-fold 2.5 and 2.4 fold higher silicosis risk, respectively. Conclusion: In this study, it has been shown that older age, longer duration of work, smoking, working in clay processing, sanding, glazing or smelting sections increase the risk of silicosis in ceramic workers.