Prevalence of silicosis in sandmine workers in kota: a cross sectional study

Background: High prevalence of silicosis and associated comorbidities were seen in sandmine workers in kota. Aims: The present study analyse the clinico-radiological profile of respiratory involvement in sandmine workers of Kota with the help of digital chest xray and PFT findings. Study design: This is an open label cross section study conducted in NMCH, Kota among 250 randomly selected sandmine workers in the age group of 20 to 65 years over a period of one year from August 2015 to July 2016. Materials and methods: 250 selected subjects were recruited for chest xray and PFT .Xrays were evaluated for the presence or absence of opacities in the lung field and PFT parameters like FEV1,FVC and FEV1/FVC were evaluated. Stastical analysis: SPSS was utilised for descriptive stastics and logistic regression. Results: 113 out of the 250 patients were diagnosed with silicosis based on clinical, radiological and PFT findings. Prevalence was found to be 45.2 percentage .many additional comorbidities like pulmonary TB, COPD and malnourishment were also noted among sand mineworkers. Majority of the patients diagnosed had an exposure history of more than 10 years Smoking was found to be an additional risk factor during our study probably contributing to the comorbidities mentioned above. Conclusion: Study revealed a strong relationship between duration of exposure and radiological and PFT findings in silicosis and the inadequacy of protection measures employed at the work site along with lack of awareness about personal protection devices and education about the possible morbidities amongst the workers.