Healthy worker survival effect at a high-altitude mine: prospective cohort observation

• Published in: Scientific reports 2022-08, Vol.12 (1), p.13903-13903, Article 13903
• Main Authors: Vinnikov, Denis, Krasotski, Viktor
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 692/499; 692/699; Altitude; Blood pressure; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Employment; Gold; Hemorrhoids; High-altitude environments; Humanities and Social Sciences; Hypertension; Lung diseases; multidisciplinary; New employees; Obstructive lung disease; Otitis; Physiology; Respiratory function; Rheumatic fever; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sea level; Smoking; Survival
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-18331-4

Very little is known about the factors of healthy worker survival effect at high-altitude mines. We conducted this cohort observation of the new hires for a high-altitude gold mine in Kyrgyzstan with the aim to ascertain predictors of survival at work. All new hires in 2009 through 2012 for a high-altitude gold mine (3600–4500 m above sea level) were followed up to January 2022. We tested the association of demographic, physiological predictors and diagnoses at the pre-employment screening with non-survival at work in Cox proportional hazards yielding hazard ratios (HR) with their 95% confidence intervals (CI). The cumulative observation time was 5190 person-years. Blood pressure at pre-employment, lung function, the diagnoses of essential hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or any other analyzed physiological variables were not associated with non-survival at work. However, smoking (HR 1.55; 95% CI 1.10; 2.17) increased the likelihood of non-survival at work, independent of any diagnosis or lowland residence (HR 1.95; 95% CI 1.31; 2.90). Adjusted for covariates and all diagnoses, having chronic rheumatic fever (HR 10.95; 95% CI 2.92; 33.92), hemorrhoids (HR 1.32; 95% CI 1.01; 3.75), adhesive otitis (HR 1.74; 95% CI 1.05; 2.89) or obesity (HR 1.71; 95% CI 1.01; 2.88) were associated with non-survival at work with time. This prospective observation of new hires for a high-altitude mining operation demonstrated that selected diagnoses, smoking and lowland residence elevated the risk of early exit in prospective workers.