Prevalence of Pneumoconiosis in the Construction Industry: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Construction workers can be exposed to fibres, dust, and other toxic particles that can cause pneumoconiosis from silica, asbestos, and mixed dust. This systematic review aims to analyse how pneumoconiosis caused by exposure to dust contributed to the rise of occupational diseases in construction workers from 2001 to 2021. Sixteen keywords were combined to perform the search in six databases. Were included 26 articles which fulfilled all the defined inclusion criteria. A global analysis of risk disease distribution shows that exposures to mixed dust (41.1%), silica (37.5%) and asbestos (21.4%) were related to pneumoconiosis. In addition, individual analysis revealed that pneumoconiosis caused by exposure to chemical agents (silica, asbestos, and their dust) in the construction industry are predominantly related to the exposure to silica (Silicosis 38.1%), asbestos (asbestosis 33.3%, lung cancer 33.3%), and mixed dust (lung cancer 21.7%). Mixed dust seems to be the source of the highest incidence of pneumoconiosis, silica associated with silicosis is the most frequent disease.