Analysis of Incidence Rates of Occupational Diseases in Mongolia, 1986–2006

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine incidence rates and time trends of major occupational diseases in Mongolia. We retrieved information about all 4598 patients from 1986 to 2006 who were diagnosed and registered with occupational diseases by the National Center of Workplace Conditions and Occupational Diseases. There was an increasing trend for new cases as well as for incidence rates of reported occupational respiratory diseases (ORD), musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), cardiovascular diseases, skin diseases, toxic hepatitis, and noise-induced hearing loss. Such a trend may result from both rapid industrialization in Mongolia and increased recognition of occupational disease. Actions must be taken immediately to allocate more resources for prevention and early recognition of occupational diseases, establishment of a comprehensive hazard communication system, and enforcement of all regulations. Key words: occupational diseases, incidence rate, epidemiology, Mongolia.

Disparities in Depression Status Among Different Industries in Transition Economy: A Cross-Sectional Study of Mongolia

“…We chose the mining industry as the reference group because it is currently the leading economic industry in terms of gross domestic product in Mongolia. 31 Compared with the mining industry, participants from all other industries other than the construction industry had significantly higher depression scores, although it has the highest proportion of people with minimum depression.…”

The Impact of the Environment on Health in Mongolia

“…Tables 1 and 2 show the prevalence and levels of exposure to common environmental risk factors in Mongolia, and associations between environmental risk factors and health outcomes among adults and children are reported in Tables 3 and 4. 3-5,11,14-41,44,45,47-49,51,54,55,58,62,66-82…”

“…The retrospective-cohort studies included 47-49 found an overall increase in the annual incidence rates of occupational diseases, including chronic bronchitis, pneumoconiosis, asthma, tuberculosis, lung cancer, poisonings, and musculoskeletal and cardiovascular diseases. Oyunbileg et al 48 reported increases in the cumulative incidence rate 30-59 of occupational respiratory diseases (1.4% per year) and in the cumulative incidence rate 30-59 of musculoskeletal disorders (2.3% per year) in the period from 1986 to 2006. Actually, these increases might be more than the reported values because of underreporting of these diseases resulting from the presence of informal and/or unregistered factories, especially in the mining i...…”

“…We incorporated published studies meeting the following inclusion criteria: for levels of exposure, studies and/or data sources reported levels and/or prevalence of exposure to environmental risk factors in Mongolia 3,5,11-43 ; for health consequences of exposure, we included studies investigating an association between exposure to environmental risk factors (air pollution; exposure to chemicals and metals, including mercury, cadmium, lead, and chromium; and water pollution) and health and well-being in Mongolia. 4,14-19,30…”