LENGTH OF EMPLOYMENT AS A RISK FACTOR FOR HEALTH PROBLEMS IN MINERS OF THE KOLA POLAR REGION

It is known that an increase in the exposure duration of occupational hazards associated with the extraction of ore raw materials negatively influences miners' health. The purpose was to study the peculiarities of employment length influence on the health disorders formation in 1558 underground apatite miners in the Kola Polar region. It was found that length of employment which exceeded 3 years was a significant risk factor for health problems in apatite miners in the Kola Polar region. Comparison of different five-year employment periods (<5 years to 20 years) has showed that after every five years there had been a decrease in the number of healthy individuals and an increase in the number of cases in one employee. The earliest (length <5 years) pathological changes affected the musculoskeletal system, while the cardiovascular and nervous disorders occured at a later stage of a professional career (11-15 years of service). In general, the most evident negative dynamics in the miners' state of health developed within the first 15 years of service. With increasing seniority, risks for musculoskeletal (RR = 1.80; CI, 1.55-2.10), cardiovascular (RR = 4.14; CI 3,14-5,47) and nervous (RR = 3.34; CI 1,78-6,28) diseases increase significantly. The conclusion: there is a necessity to use active targeted prevention of musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and nervous diseases at the earliest stages of miners professional careers in the Kola Polar region.

length of service, health, miners, Kola Polar region