Background Along with the unceasing upgrading and optimization of industrial structure in Shanghai, the occupational hazards in traditional industries haven't been removed, but new health hazards in emerging industries has appeared, which brings new challenges to local occupational disease prevention and treatment.
Objective This study analyzes the incidence characteristics and changing trends of occupational diseases in Shanghai from 2009 to 2018, aiming to provide a scientific basis for local prevention and treatment of occupational diseases.
Methods Information on newly reported occupational disease cases from 2009 to 2018 was retrieved from the Shanghai Occupational Health Information Management System (Occupational Disease Reporting System). The distribution characteristics of the cases were analyzed by disease types, industries, economic types, business scales, and regions.
Results A total of 2 231 incidences of occupational diseases were reported during the 10 years. The male to female ratio was 5.78:1, the average age of morbidity was (41.94±11.90) years, and the median years of exposure to hazardous substances were 5 years. Occupational pneumoconiosis and other respiratory diseases (531 cases, 23.80%), occupational ear, nose, throat, and oral diseases (474 cases, 21.25%), and occupational poisonings (467 cases, 20.93%) were the leading three occupational diseases with the highest proportion. The number of cases in 2018 (139 cases) deceased by two-thirds than in 2009 (365 cases). There was a marked decline in the incidence of occupational eye diseases and occupational skin diseases, and the percentage of occupational ear, nose, throat, and oral diseases gradually increased. The newly reported occupational diseases were mainly distributed in suburb areas such as Jiading, Jinshan, Baoshan, Pudong New Area, and Songjiang districts.
Conclusion The incidence of occupational diseases in Shanghai from 2009 to 2018 shows following characteristics: (1) a downward trend; (2) obvious changes in disease proportions, where occupational otolaryngology and oral diseases are gradually increasing; (3) regional and industrial clusters. Therefore, greater efforts should be made in occupational disease prevention and treatment among key industries, key populations, and key regions in Shanghai, and attention should be paid to the potential risks of biological factors to occupational populations.
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