AUTHOR=De Maria Luigi , Pentimone Floriana , Cavone Domenica , Caputi Antonio , Sponselli Stefania , Fragassi Francesco , Dicataldo Francesco , Luisi Vito , Delvecchio Giuseppe , Giannelli Gianmarco , Cafaro Francesco , Sole Stefano , Ronghi Claudia , Zagaria Silvia , Loiacono Giuseppe , Sifanno Gianfranco , Ferri Giovanni Maria , Vimercati Luigi TITLE=Clinical investigation of former workers exposed to asbestos: the health surveillance experience of an Italian University Hospital JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health VOLUME=12 YEAR=2024 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1411910 DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2024.1411910 ISSN=2296-2565 ABSTRACT=Background

The need for health surveillance of former workers exposed to asbestos was provided by law in Italy after the asbestos ban in 1992.

Objectives

We describe the results of the health surveillance of former workers exposed to asbestos, conducted over 27 years, from 1994 to 2020, at the Operative Unit of Occupational Medicine of the University Hospital of Bari.

Materials and methods

We adopted the health surveillance protocol, which was validated at the national level in 2018.

Results

A total of 1,405 former workers exposed to asbestos were examined. We proceeded with diagnosing pathologies in 339 cases (24% of the cohort subjected to surveillance), with diagnoses of some cases involving multiple pathologies. Specifically, pleural plaques were diagnosed in 49.2% of the 339 cases, asbestosis in 35.9%, malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) in 20.3%, mesothelioma of the vaginal tunic of the testis (MTVT) in 9.1%, lung cancer in 5.8%, and laryngeal cancer in 0.8%.

Conclusion

Despite the 1992 asbestos ban, asbestos-related diseases remain a serious public health issue. It is important to establish criteria that ensure the health surveillance of formerly exposed workers minimizes costs, reduces the number of invasive examinations, and optimizes achievable results.