Epidemiological characteristics and diagnosis of suspected occupational diseases in Guangzhou from 2006 to 2018

Objective: To investigate the epidemiological characteristics and late diagnosis of suspected occupational diseases in Guangzhou from 2006 to 2018. Methods: The cases of suspected occupational diseases reported in Guangzhou from January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2018 were collected and followed up to the end of 2018. The cases of suspected occupational diseases were analyzed statistically. Results: A total of 1502 suspected occupational cases were reported in Guangzhou from 2006 to 2018, including suspected occupational otorhinolaryngological and oral diseases (58.59%, 880/1502) , suspected occupational chronic poisoning (25.03%, 376/1502) and suspected occupational pneumoconiosis (11.72%, 176/1502) . The key reporting areas were Huangpu District (27.50%, 413/1502) and Panyu District (20.91%, 314/1502) . The key reporting industries were manufacturing industry (80.36%, 1207/1502) , among which railway, ship, aerospace and other transportation equipment manufacturing industry (13.26%, 160/1207) , automobile manufacturing industry (12.51%, 151/1207) and general equipment manufacturing industry (10.19%, 123/1207) were the main industries. The main type of reported economy was private economy (39.95%, 600/1502) . The scale of the key reporting enterprises was medium and small-sized enterprises (31.09%, 467/1502 and 34.62%, 520/1502) . As of December 31, 2018, 263 cases were diagnosed with occupational diseases, and the diagnosis rate was 17.51%. Conclusion: The number of suspected occupational diseases reported in Guangzhou from 2006 to 2018 is large, and the overall diagnosis rate of suspected occupational diseases is low. It is necessary to strengthen the supervision and management of key diseases, key regions, and key industries of suspected occupational diseases. It is suggested that the reporting system of suspected occupational diseases should be standardized as soon as possible.