Prevalence of Respiratory Disorders and Associated Factors among Coal Mine Workers, Narrative Review

The potential of pneumoconiosis was only discussed in the pretext of coal mining, but there is a new spectrum of respiratory diseases affecting coal miners termed as coal mine dust lung disease. In this narrative review, an attempt has been made to understand the prevalence of respiratory disorders among coal miners. A narrative synthesis was undertaken, using thematic analysis to synthesize the findings of the studies included within the review. The final narrative synthesis contains 12 studies. The majority of the studies were conducted in the USA. Among the total sample of 35,480 from 4 articles, a cumulative prevalence of 4.5% was found for Coal workers' pneumoconiosis in the studies conducted in mines of USA. Whereas the study in South Africa revealed a prevalence of 2.59%. The review has found a strong association of years of coal dust exposure with the occurrence of respiratory disorders among coal mine workers. Smoking is also found to be strongly associated with increasing the risk of respiratory disorders. So the review recommends an appropriate workplace culture, including respiratory hygiene, protection and avoiding habits like smoking among coal mine workers. The occupational surveillance for respiratory disorders among the workers needs to be strengthened.