Risk factors for the development of comorbid diseases of occupational bronchopulmonary pathology

Abstract

Introduction. Comorbid diseases in patients with occupational bronchopulmonary pathology determines the severity of the underlying disease. The purpose was to identify risk factors for the development of concomitant diseases in occupational bronchopulmonary pathology in aluminum production workers. Materials and methods. One hundred thirty men with an occupational pathology including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bronchial asthma (BA), chronic non-obstructive bronchitis (CNB) and their combination were examined. Inclusion criteria - male gender, age from 43 years to 72 years, established diagnosis of an occupational disease of the lower respiratory tract. The assessment of the significance of risk factors was carried out using the Bayesian method. Risk factors were taken: the patient’s occupation: total work experience, work experience in aluminum production, age, smoking. The odds ratio for the development of comorbid pathology (OR (CI)) was calculated. Results. Concomitant pathology was detected in 97% of patients. The informativity of risk factors is presented as a series: occupation < age < total experience < experience in aluminum production < smoking. The OR of two comorbid diseases is higher in COPD patients (OR=10.8) and COPD+BA (OR=15.0). The risk of one comorbid disease is higher in CNB patients. Limitations. The results cannot be generalized to workers as the group included only men. Conclusion. The risk of two or more comorbid diseases is typical for patients with COPD or a combination of COPD+BA; electrolysis workers and persons working in various workshops; with more than 25 years of experience; currently continuing to smoke.