Recognized Occupational Diseases in Italy's Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Liguria Regions (2010-2021).

BACKGROUND: The study of recognized occupational diseases trend is important to understand the preventive approach needed in the future, however, while numbers of occupational diseases are available on web, data on incidence are missing. The aim of our study was to analyze the trend and the incidence rate ratio (IRR) of recognized occupational diseases in Italy, in Friuli-Venezia Giulia region (FVG) and Liguria region from 2010 to 2021. METHODS: Numbers of recognized occupational diseases by the Italian National Insurance for Occupational Diseases (INAIL) were analyzed and incidence were calculated considered the total number of workforces in the area. A Poisson regression model was used to estimate incidence trends. RESULTS: FVG region presented a higher incidence of all occupational diseases compared to Italy and to Liguria in the period considered. The overall incidence in 2019 was 175, 91.8 and 108 cases for 100,000 workers, for FVG, Liguria and Italy respectively. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) were the majority of occupational diseases with 100, 51 and 82.8 cases per 100,000 workers, in FVG, Liguria and Italy, respectively. Incidence of occupational cancers was 16, 10 and 4.9 cases per 100,000 workers, in FVG, Liguria and Italy, respectively. The annual change of incidence from 2010 to 2019 was positive for MSDs (IRR 1.06; 95%CI 1.06 to 1.07) and decreasing for the other causes in Italy. In FVG region the trend was positive for MSDs (IRR 1.05;95%CI 1.04 to 1.06), for respiratory diseases (IRR 1.03; 95%CI 1.00 to 1.05) and pleural plaques (IRR 1.03; 95%CI 1.00 to 1.06). In Liguria the trend was positive for MSDs (IRR 1.17; 95% CI 1.15-1.19) and for pleural plaques (IRR 1.07; 95%CI 1.03-1.12). Stable trends were found for cancers. Declining trend was shown for noise induced hearing loss and skin diseases. CONCLUSIONS: FVG region presented a higher incidence of recognized occupational diseases compared to Liguria region and Italian data. Results that can be explained by a higher propensity of claiming for occupational diseases in workers, mainly for MSDs disorders. For cancers and asbestos-related diseases the higher incidence can be attributable to high exposure to asbestos in FVG and Liguria workers mainly in shipyard and dock activities.

[Proposal of an Italian national protocol of health surveillance for former asbestos workers: an ongoing project]. / Proposta di un protocollo nazionale di sorveglianza sanitaria degli ex-esposti ad amianto: uno studio in corso.

OBJECTIVES: to define an Italian national protocol of post-occupational health surveillance for asbestos workers according to effectiveness, appropriateness, saving, and social utility. DESIGN: data for 1,071 former asbestos workers from several Italian Regions were collected and analysed. For these workers, a retrospective estimate of asbestos exposure was carried out. A cohort study of 1,588 asbestos workers recruited from 2000 onward during statutory health examinations in Veneto and followed-up for lung cancer mortality until December 2010 was executed. A literature search on methods of follow-up of asbestos workers (imaging, spirometry, and questionnaires) and diagnosis of non-malignant (asbestosis and pleural plaques) and malignant (lung cancer) asbestos disease was done. A consensus, i.e., a process of agreeing on one result among the participants, was made. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: 19 Italian Regions (North: Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Lombardia, Piemonte, Valle d'Aosta, Autonomous Province of Trento, Autonomous Province of Bolzano, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Liguria; Centre:Toscana, Umbria; South and Islands: Calabria, Abruzzo, Puglia, Campania, Basilicata,Marche, Sicilia, Sardegna), Department of Occupational Medicine at Italian National Institute for Compensation ofWork-Related Diseases and Accidents (INAIL), and Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, and Vascular Sciences at University of Padova. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: analysis of current regional experiences on health surveillance; retrospective estimate of asbestos exposure; data collection and analysis of a cohort of asbestos workers; search of the relevant literature; final report with the consensus document. RESULTS: the results obtained in each of the above areas of research, along with the relevant findings of the literature, were presented and discussed among the participants. The several phases of expression and evaluation of the participants' opinions were conducted according to an iterative method of investigation (Delphi method), which allows a progressive converging of different views into one shared result. CONCLUSION: based on all the above, a consensus has been reached on a proposal for an Italian national protocol of health surveillance for asbestos workers.

[Comparison of the incidence rate of occupational injuries among permanent, temporary and immigrant workers in Friuli-Venezia Giulia]. / Confronto dell'incidenza degli infortuni tra lavoratori tipici, interinali e migranti del Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

OBJECTIVES: to evaluate the difference in the frequency of occupational injuries between permanent and temporary workers, and between Italian and immigrant workers. DESIGN: we compared the incidence rate of occupational injury between permanent and temporary workers and between Italian and immigrant workers. SETTING: 160 factories and 4 employment agencies operating in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. PARTICIPANTS: all permanent workers of the above-named factories and temporary workers of the above-named employment agencies. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: incidence rate ratio of occupational injury in relation to type of workers (permanent and temporary) and their nationality (Italian and immigrant). RESULTS: there were 1,499 occupational injuries among 18,210 permanent workers and 392 among 1,345 temporary workers. The incidence rate ratio of occupational injury was significantly higher in temporary workers than in permanent workers (IR 2.46; 95% CI 2.02-2.99). Nationality appears to be an important risk factor especially among permanent workers (IR 1.63; 95% CI 1.34-1.98). Temporary work--regardless nationality--seems to be a major risk for occupational injury.

[Occupational accidents among immigrant women in the Italian North-Eastern regions (Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia)]. / Gli infortuni sul lavoro tra le donne immigrate nelle regioni del Nord-Est (Veneto e Friuli Venezia Giulia).

OBJECTIVES: to describe occupational accidents among foreign women working in two regions of North-Eastern Italy, in the perspective of a desirable prevention policy. SETTING AND DESIGN: frequency distribution of occupational accidents among foreign women covered by the National Institute for Insurance against Work Accidents (INAIL) in 2000. PARTICIPANTS: foreign female workers employed in two regions of North-Eastern Italy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: frequency distribution of work accidents. RESULTS: 1003 occupational accidents to foreign female workers occurred in Veneto and 383 in Friuli Venezia Giulia. The most frequent places of origin of injured workers in Friuli Venezia Giulia (borderline region with Slovenia) were former Yugoslavia (113) and Albania (28). In Veneto, corresponding countries of origin were Africa (156), Romania (84) and Albania (80).