Comorbid occupational diseases in copper-nickel ore metallurgical processing

Introduction. The problem of comorbid pathology, which is becoming increasingly more important for internal medicine, is still little known in occupational medicine.

The purpose of the study is to obtain new data on the development, prevalence, and structure of occupational comorbidity in the copper-nickel ore metallurgical processing.

Materials and methods. We studied the data from the register of extracts from occupational disease and poisoning records (Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia No. 417 dated 27.04.2012 Health of Russia dated May 28, 2001 No. 176) in the Murmansk region and Krasnoyarsk Territory for 2007-2021.

Results. In 2007–2021, 24.6% of nickel industry workers with newly diagnosed occupational diseases developed comorbid pathology. Its prevalence rose from 0% in 2007–2008 to 83.3% in 2021, and the number of diseases increased by 3.17 times over this period. Two diseases were diagnosed in 66 (14.9%), three in 22 (5.0%), four in fifteen (3.4%), five in eleven (2.5%), and six in three (0.7%) of employees. The development of occupational comorbidity is associated with a rise in exposure to the combined effect of harmful production factors (primarily chemicals and the severity of labor), the imperfection of technological processes, and the working conditions of some specialists (primarily cleaners of finished products and crane operators). Respiratory and musculoskeletal diseases were the most prevalent in the structure of comorbid pathology: 31.5% and 23.0%, respectively.

Research limitations. The study is limited to the study of the causes of development, prevalence and structure of comorbid occupational pathology in workers engaged in metallurgical processing of copper-nickel ore at enterprises in the Murmansk region and Krasnoyarsk territory.

Conclusion. In the nickel industry workers, exposed to combination of production hazards of various natures, the development of occupational comorbidity is caused by the continued work activity of individuals with initial signs of health disorders. For its prevention, it is necessary to timely determine the compliance of the workers´ health status with the current production hazards exposure.

Compliance with ethical standards. This study does not require the approval of a biomedical ethics committee, as it is based on archival materials that do not contain personal information.

Contribution of the authors:
Syurin S.A — concept and design of the study, collection and analysis of literary sources, writing of the text, editing;
Vinnikov D.V. — collection and analysis of literary sources, writing of the text, editing.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Funding. The study had no sponsorship.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: December 14, 2023 / Accepted: March 29, 2024 / Published: June 30, 2025

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