[Occupational diseases in Poland, 2007]

The aim of the paper was to present basic statistical data on occupational diseases diagnosed in 2007.

The work was based on the data compiled from "Occupational Disease Reporting Forms" received by the Central Register of Occupational Diseases in 2006. The data comprised information on nosologic units, gender and age of patients, and duration of occupational exposure to harmful agents responsible for the development of specified pathologies. These data were further classified by sectors of the national economy and voivodships. The incidence was specified in terms of the number of cases in relation to paid employees or to employed persons.

In 2007, 3285 cases of occupational diseases were diagnosed. The incidence rate was 33.5 cases/100 000 paid employees. The highest incidence rates were noted for chronic voice disorders (8.1/100 000), pneumoconioses (7.1), infectious and parasitic diseases (6.8) and hearing loss (2.6). As many as 77.3% of patients affected by occupational diseases had been exposed to harmful agents for more than 20 years. In industrial sectors of the national economy, the coal mining industry showed the highest incidence rates (404.1 cases/100 000). The highest incidence rates were recorded in the Lubelskie (73.1), Silesian (68.4), Swietokrzyskie (66.5) and Małopolskie (60.7) voivodships.

Compared with 2006, the number of cases of occupational diseases increased by 156 cases (5%), the incidence rate increased by 2.1%. The greatest rise was noted in infectious and parasitic diseases (by 68 cases, 11.3%) and chronic diseases of peripheral nervous system (by 50 cases, 46.3%). At the same time the number of hearing loss cases apparently decreased (by 43 cases, 14.6%).