An epidemiologic study of silicosis in the Southeast Region of Brazil, from a survey of patients in tuberculosis hospitals

Abstract

To increase current knowledge concerning the epidemiology of silicosis in the southeast of Brazil, a detailed survey was carried out through the occupational histories of 3,440 adult male patients admitted for tuberculosis to 27 tuberculosis hospitals in the states of S. Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Minas Gerais (Brazil). Analysis of complete occupational histories disclosed 327 (9.5%) suspected cases of silicotuberculosis. Random and independent readings of chest roentgenograms by three experienced professionals (two pneumologists and one radiologist) confirmed positive or suspected shadows of pneumoconiosis in 119 patients (3.5%). Applying this rate of silicotuberculosis to the total number of adult male admissions in 1977 and the tuberculosis frequency in silicotics in Brazil - 3.3% - indicates an estimated 20,000 cases of silicotics in southeastern Brazil. The 119 patients with confirmed or suspected shadows furnished epidemiological characteristics, such as, age, occupation, and length of exposure, which are presented. The importance is stressed of silicosis as a public health problem in this region and as an occupational disease meriting priority by the occupational health agencies authorities in Brazil.