Finnish Register The Society of Occupational Diseases recently released data for 2019 and 2020, revealing significant changes in occupational disease trends due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After years of a consistent downward trend, the number of recognized cases increased in 2020.
In 2019, 1,067 occupational diseases were recognized, of which 710 occurred in the working-age population.
However, in 2020, there were also a total of 1,067 recognized cases, but the number of cases within the working age group was higher at 792. Of note, more than a quarter of these cases were diagnosed in individuals aged 65 and older.
The spread of infections in 2020 was primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the recognized occupational diseases, 115 were directly related to COVID-19, many of which occurred in the health and social services sector. Chief physician Kirsi Koskela said women accounted for about 90 per cent of these COVID-19 occupational disease patients, who worked almost exclusively in medical and social care roles.
Another important factor in this increase is the rise in cases of cryptosporidiosis, commonly referred to as calf diarrhea. The number of infections has increased significantly since 2018, suggesting the beginning of an epidemic. In 2019 and 2020, there were 47 and 54 confirmed cases in the working-age population, respectively. However, only about 10% of cryptosporidiosis cases in Japan were recognized as an occupational disease, mainly in the agricultural sector.
The data also highlight persistent gender differences in the types of occupational diseases. Despite an increase in the proportion of women confirmed to be infected with COVID-19, men accounted for 58% of all occupational disease cases in the working-age population in 2020. The most common occupational disease among working-age men was noise-induced hearing loss. On the other hand, in the woman’s case, it was a new coronavirus infection and irritant contact dermatitis.
Although asbestos-related diseases have been steadily declining, they are still being diagnosed, mostly in patients over 65 years of age. This trend is associated with a longer incubation period between asbestos exposure and disease manifestation. Pleural plaques remain the most common asbestos-related disease.
In addition to data for 2019-2020, “Recognized and suspected occupational diseases 2019-2020” includes revised figures for 2016-2018 after revisions to insurer data. This latest report also introduces industry-specific tables, providing more detailed insight into occupational disease trends across different sectors.
HT