Occupational lung diseases in low-and middle-income countries: A scoping review

Document Type

Review Article

Department

Community Health Sciences; Medicine

Abstract

Purpose: of Review We summarized current evidence on occupational lung diseases (OLDs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Recent Findings: Research on OLDs in LMICs remains limited and unevenly distributed. Of the 29 included studies (≈47,000 workers), most were from Africa and South Asia. Majority were cross-sectional (n=25) and only two each of cohort and interventional studies; and were categorized into: manufacturing and industrial processing (n=17), mining and extraction (n=4), agriculture and farming (n=5), and services and waste management (n=4) sectors. We found a high prevalence of respiratory conditions across different settings. Important gaps include the scarcity of interventional research, lack of data from several LMIC regions, limited exposure assessment, and limited inclusion of women and informal-sector workers.
Summary: Our review reveals a substantial gap in high-quality evidence on OLDs in LMICs. There is a need to strengthen surveillance, monitor exposure, and conduct interventional studies in LMICs

Comments

Pagination is not provided by author/publisher

Publication (Name of Journal)

Current Pulmonology Reports

DOI

doi.org/10.1007/s13665-026-00416-4

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