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Prevalence of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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Abstract

Global prevalence trend and regional differences of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis (CWP) remain unclear. This study aimed to provide systematic and comprehensive evidence for the global prevalence of CWP. Literature research for studies that reported prevalence of CWP was conducted in PubMed, CNKI, and Web of Science. The identified studies were strictly screened according to predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The pooled prevalence of CWP in different periods and regions was calculated. A total of 37 studies were included after screening, and data from the Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program was additionally included in the meta-analysis. The global pooled prevalence of CWP decreased from 23.33% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 18.03%, 28.62%) before 1970 to 6.00% (95% CI: 4.11%, 7.90%) in 1981-1990, but indicated a rebound (10.35%, 95% CI: 8.08%, 12.62%) in 1991-2000 and finally dropped to 2.29% (95% CI: 2.06%, 2.51%) in 2011-2020. In the recent 30 years, the top three pooled prevalence of CWP was found in Europe, China, and the USA, respectively. Few articles have reported the prevalence in developing regions, but available evidence indicated that the prevalence in developing regions was much higher than that in developed regions. Higher pooled prevalence was observed in studies which reported larger number of miners in collieries, older average age of miners, underground collieries, and longer dust exposure time. The global prevalence of CWP indicates a rebound in 1990s, but the overall trend is downward in the recent 60 years. The prevention and treatment of CWP should be currently emphasized in developing countries.

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Funding

The study was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2021XXJS017).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Occupational & Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, China

    Wei Liu, Ruyi Liang, Bin Wang, Shuting Cao, Xing Wang, Jixuan Ma, Dongming Wang & Weihong Chen

  2. Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education & Ministry of Environmental Protection, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, China

    Wei Liu, Ruyi Liang, Bin Wang, Shuting Cao, Xing Wang, Jixuan Ma, Dongming Wang & Weihong Chen

  3. Department of Pathology and Shanxi Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research on Esophageal Cancer, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China

    Rixin Zhang

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  1. Wei Liu
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  2. Ruyi Liang
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  3. Rixin Zhang
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  4. Bin Wang
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  8. Dongming Wang
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  9. Weihong Chen
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Contributions

W.L. performed the statistical analyses, interpreted the data, and drafted the manuscript. W.L., R.L., R.Z., B.W., S.C., X.W., J.M., W.C, and D.W. contributed to the data acquisition, manuscript revision, review for important intellectual content, and final version approval. W.L. and D.W. conceived and designed this study. D.W. was the guarantor of this work and, as such, had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

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Correspondence to Dongming Wang.

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The funder did not play any role in study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; nor in the preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript.

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Liu, W., Liang, R., Zhang, R. et al. Prevalence of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 88690–88698 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21966-5

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