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. 2023 Aug 2;114(4):e2023035.
doi: 10.23749/mdl.v114i4.14637.

Trends in Occupational Diseases in Italian Industry and Services From 2006 To 2019

Francesca Larese Filon  1 , Ottavia Spadola  2 , Claudio Colosio  3 , Henk Van Der Molen  4
Affiliations

Trends in Occupational Diseases in Italian Industry and Services From 2006 To 2019

Francesca Larese Filon et al. Med Lav. .

Abstract

Background: There is a paucity of data on occupational disease incidence in Italy, and we analyzed the trend on time as an incidence rate ratio (IRR).

Methods: Occupational diseases reported to the Italian National Insurance for Occupational Diseases (INAIL) in industrial and services sectors from 2006 to 2019 were considered and analyzed. Annual case counts were analyzed using a Poisson regression model to estimate incidence trends.

Results: The incidence of occupational diseases in the industrial and services sectors in 2019 was 261 cases for 100,000 workers, with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) representing 65% of the total cases, their incidence being 169.5 cases per 100,000 workers. The incidence of ear diseases (ED) decreased to 20.8 cases for 100,000 workers. The annual change in incidence (IRR) was 1.08 (CI 95% 1.07-1.11) for MSDs, 1.08 (CI 95% 1.06-1.10) for cancers, and 1.04 (CI 95% 1.03-1.06) for respiratory diseases. The trend was significantly negative for ear diseases, 0.96 (CI 95% 0.96-0.97), and skin diseases 0.93 (CI 95% 0.92-0.93). No changes were found for asbestos and mental diseases.

Conclusions: During the study period, occupational diseases increased in Italy, mainly for MSDs, due to a changeover in eligibility criteria from 2008. However, the overall incidence was lower than in other EU Countries. More efforts are needed to harmonize the legislation for joint action in the prevention and recognition of occupational diseases.

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Conflict of interest statement

The Authors declare no conflict of interests.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Absolute number (N) and Incidence cases per 100,000 workers of total and specific OD in the industrial and services sectors from 2004 to 2019. Ear diseases (mainly noise-induced hearing loss).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Incidence rate ratio of reported occupational diseases (ODs) in the Italian industrial and services sectors from 2004 to 2019, considering 2004 as the reference year. Ear diseases (mainly noise-induced hearing loss) also include other ears’ diseases.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Van Der Molen HF, Marsili C, Vitali A, Colosio C. Trends in occupational diseases in the Italian agricultural sector, 2004-2017. Occup Environ Med. 2020;77(5):340–3. - PMC - PubMed
    1. GURI (Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana) Nuova tabella delle malattie professionali nell’industria di cui all’art. 3 del D.P.R. 1124/1965 e successive modificazioni e integrazioni (ALL. N. 4 al D.P.R. 1124/1965)
    1. INAIL Istituto Nazionale contro gli Infortuni sul Lavoro – banca dati statistici https://bancadaticsa.inail.it/bancadaticsa/bancastatistica.asp?cod=2. (Last Accessed 21, April 2021)

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