Tatiana V. Morozova

Objectives. Complementing the previously published cohort-internal comparison we hereby compare the cause-specific mortality in workers of the Asbest Chrysotile Cohort study (ACC) with the general population of Sverdlovsk Oblast where the mine and factories are located.Methods. The ACC cohort database and the regional Federal State Statistic Service for the Sverdlovsk Oblast population were used. We calculated sex-specific standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the main ICD-10 disease groups and for selected cancer sites for the populations ≥15 years from 1980 to 2015. In relation to exposure, we applied the Sverdlovsk rates to the person-years in each exposure category to obtain expected numbers of lung cancer deaths. For comparing types of ACC workers (mine, enrichment factories, both), we calculated lung cancer SMRs in men by duration of employment (< 5 years, 5–14 years, and ≥ 15 years) and start of employment (before or after 1975) with miners as reference in each stratum.Results. Overall mortality of men in the ACC was reduced by 14%, mainly because of the most common cause of death, circulatory disease; this effect was much weaker in women. Elevated mortality was observed for both sexes from diseases of the digestive system (10–30%) and blood and blood forming organs (121–181%). Lung cancer mortality in men was increased from the 3rd quartile of chrysotile containing dust and in the highest quartile with SMR 1.30, 95% CI 1.07–1.57, while the increase in high exposed women was not reaching statistical significance (SMR 1.69, 95% CI 0.87–2.96). No increased SMRs were seen for laryngeal, stomach or ovarian cancers. Male factory workers first employed before 1975 had higher lung cancer mortality compared to miners, but not when employed after 1974.Conclusions. The observed excess in lung cancer confirms previous observations in the ACC. Risk management measures in the enrichment factories may have reduced the lung cancer risk to the level of the miners in recent decades.Ethics. The ACC was approved by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC/WHO) Ethics Committee (IEC No. 12–22, September 2012).Contributions:Ann Olsson — preparation of the manuscript, project administration, data processing, including quality control, interpretation of the received data;Joachim Schüz — manuscript preparation, cohort formation, project administration, formal analysis, interpretation of the data obtained;Hans Kromhout — preparation of the manuscript, evaluation of the exposition;Evgeny Kovalevskiy — manuscript preparation, cohort formation, project administration, data processing, including quality control, interpretation of the received data;Monika Moissonnier — preparation of tables and figures, data processing, including quality control, and formal analysis;Igor Bukhtiyarov — cohort formation, project administration, and data interpretation;Kurt Straif — cohort formation;Eleonora Feletto — conducting an exposure assessment, data processing, including quality control, and conducting a formal analysis;Iraklii Tskhomariia — project administration, data processing, including quality control, and data interpretation;Tatiana Morozova — project administration and data interpretation;Evgenia Ostroumova — data processing, including quality control and data interpretation;Gilles Ferro — data processing, including quality control, formal analysis;Graham Byrnes — conducting a formal analysis.Acknowledgements. Dr Sergey Kashanskiy from the Yekaterinburg Medical Research Center for Prophylaxis and Health Protection in Industrial Workers, Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation was instrumental in the conduct of the study but died on February 9, 2023 and is deeply missed by the entire study team. We acknowledge the data entry team in Asbest town who rigorously entered written information into electronic format: the late Isolina Smirnova, Zoya Lapuhina, and Yulia Nurdinova; and Dr Sara J. Schonfeld for her valuable contribution to the ACC overall and the re-coding of the oblast data from ICD-9 to ICD-10. The authors also wish to acknowledge the independent Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). The scientific advisory board members provided their reviews of this manuscript, but the integration of their comments remained at the discretion of the authors.Funding. The work was supported by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation in the framework of the Federal target program "National System of Chemical and Biological Safety of the Russian Federation" of 2009–2014 and of 2015–2020 under a general framework of action between the Federal state budgetary scientific institution “Izmerov Research Institute of Occupational Health” (IRIOH) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).Conflict of interest. Dr Kovalevskiy reported receiving, on behalf of their institutes and personally through consulting firms, payments from companies to evaluate exposure to asbestos and risk of asbestos-related disease in those workplaces. All other authors have no competing interests to declare. For full transparency, Dr Kovalevskiy reported participation as an occupational and environmental health expert as part of the delegation of the Russian Ministry of Health at multiple World Health Assembly meetings as well as at the Conference of the Parties to the Basel and Rotterdam Conventions. Dr Kovalevskiy reported attending meetings organized by the International Chrysotile Association and reported that all expenses for attendance were paid by their respective institutes.Disclaimer. Where authors are identified as personnel of IARC/WHO, the authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this article, and they do not necessarily represent the decisions, policy, or views of IARC/WHO.Data availability. Raw data cannot...

There was studied the state of health of females in modern sector employment: office workers (group 1) and managers (group 2), and the health of their newborns. There was established the increase of the risk for the development of extragenital disorders in groups 1 and 2 compared with the control. For adreno-genital syndrome OR = 3.83; (CI: 1.15-12.74) in group 1 and OR = 4,50 (CI: 1.24-16.28) Group 2; for respiratory diseases OR = 2.77-2.98 (CI: 1.82- 4.85) in groups 1 and 2; for digestive diseases OR = 2.45 (CI: 1.39-4.32) in group 1 and 2.77 (CI: 1.46-5.26)--in Group 2. The risk of infertility in the history of the group 2 was OR = 2.56 (CI: 1.33-4.92). The frequency of reproductive loss in the history is signficantly higher in group 1 (12,9 ? 1.28), is increasing in group 2 (20.19 ± 2.75) with 9.74 ± 2.12 in 100 females in the control. In complications of pregnancy the frequency of the threat of its interruption increases from 16.99 ± 2.31 cases per 100 females in the group 1 to 21.60 ± 2.82 in Group 2, with 11.79 ± 2.31 in the control (p < 0.01). In newborn of these female workers there was revealed an increase in the frequency of the congenital defects of development (CDD) of the circulatory system in group 1 by 1.5 times in the group 2-2.5 times if compared to the control (16.38 ± 1.41 and 24.88 ± 2.96, with 9.74 ± 2.12 cases per 100 infants (p < 0.01; p < 0.001), respectively, the frequency of congenital malformations of the urinary system in groups 1 and 2 (10.00 ± 1.14 and 10.80 ± 2.13), was significantly higher than in control--3.08 ± 1.24 per 100 births (p < 0.01); CDD of genitalia was significantly higher in group 1 (11.01 ± 1.19) with 5.13 ± 1.58 per 100 infants in the control (p < 0.01). Thus, disorders of reproductive health in females involved in modern sector employment depend on the degree of occupational hazard factors; can lead to congenital disease in their newborn, which requires the development of preventive measures.

The article mentiones issues of preserving and strengthening the reproductive health of women workers, dealed by researchers of the laboratory, established in 1974. It describes the developed concept of the reproductive health problems and scientific research areas, developed documents, including legislative fields, formulates main prospects of the laboratory to meet the requirements of the present moment. Noted the role of the Problem Commission "Scientific basis for the reproductive health of workers", in the work of the Scientific Council on medical and environmental issues of workers' health.

The effectiveness of personal protective equipment (PPE) of hearing, respiratory organs and hands is considered. It is shown that real effect of PPE is twice lower than declared by supplier; this presumes some derating system. The aspects of discomfort and additional risks are analyzed. The hygienic and physiologic evaluation of PPE is required along with elaboration of an official document (OSH standard or sanitary regulation) on selection, personal fit, organization of use and individual training of workers and their motivation.