Jordan B Minov

Title : Work-related outcomes in COPD

Abstract:

Although chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is often considered as a disease of the elderly, a large proportion of patients with COPD are at working age and the disease significantly affects their work ability and work productivity leading to reduced working hours, absenteeism, presenteeism and early retirement. Disability due to COPD is a very important public health problem in the last decades at global level with a substantial impact on patients, their families, governments and the whole society. The role of occupational exposures (silica dust, coal dust, wood dust, agricultural dust, cadmium fumes, etc.) in the development and progression of COPD was confirmed in a number of studies. On the other side, up to now evidence for the impact of COPD on work ability and work productivity loss is still not sufficient.

According to the results of our study conducted on the sample of 2,348 adults from Skopje region in the period 2018-2021, frequency of the disease in the whole study sample was 4.6% being fourfold higher in the study subjects older than 45 years (6.7%) than in the younger age group (1.6%). Findings from mentioned study indicated significantly higher frequency and duration of sick leave episodes in COPD patients as compared with work absence of non-COPD controls. In addition, findings from the same study indicated significantly higher frequency of premature retirement, significantly lower age of retirement and significantly shorter duration of active work life in COPD patients than in non-COPD controls.

These findings proved the great impact of COPD on work ability of affected people suggesting a need of workplace interventions to reduce occupational respiratory exposures and medical preventive measures for early detection of lung impairment. In addition, the results obtained suggested a need of future studies to identify modifiable factors associated with poorer work outcomes in order to improve work ability and work productivity in patients with COPD.

Keywords: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, early retirement, occupational exposures, work absence, work disability.        

Biography:

Jordan B. Minov, MD MSc PhD, specialist in internal medicine and occupational medicine, sub-specialist in pulmology and allergy, has achieved his graduated and post-graduated degree at the Medical Faculty, University “Sts. Cyrilus and Method” in Skopje. Employed at the Institute for Occupational Health of R. North Macedonia, Skopje, as a Head of the Department for Physiology of Work. Full professor at the Medical Faculty, Skopje, and Chief of the Chair for Occupational Medicine.   

Obstructive airway diseases, occupationally-related respiratory diseases, respiratory functional diagnostics, and public health aspects of the respiratory diseases are the fields of his special scientific interest.

Author of the monographs “Lung and Pleural Diseases Related to Occupational Exposures” (Skopje, 2009), “Spirometry” (Skopje, 2010), “Smoking among Macedonian Workers” (Saarbrücken, 2013), “COPD and the Workplace” (New York, 2016), and “Spirometry in the Diagnosis and Monitoring of the Respiratory Diseases” (Skopje, 2021). Author of the chapter “Work-Related Asthma” in the E-book “Asthma” (www.smgebooks.com). Co-author of the monograph “Occupational Medicine”, ed. J. Karadzinska-Bislimovska (Skopje, 2011).

Researcher in the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA²LEN) Survey and in the Survey Follow-up Study from the Skopje centre (2007-2010).  Team leader of the Skopje Data Collection Centre within the Study EMBARC: The European Bronchiectasis Registry (2015-2019) and in the project “COPD and Occupational Exposures” funded by Medical Faculty, Skopje (2018-2021).