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Background Occupational exposure to asbestos constitutes a major public health concern. Despite this in many countries, data and registration systems for occupational asbestos-related diseases are non-existent or poorly developed. Aims To analyse the incidence of occupational asbestos-related diseases in Poland between the years 1970 and 2015, with particular emphasis on the periods after introduction of a ban on asbestos and following introduction of a surveillance programme. Methods Analysis based on all medically recognized cases, certified as occupational diseases and reported obligatorily from all over the country to the Central Register of Occupational Diseases. Results During the period 1970-2015, 4983 cases were reported as asbestos-related diseases. The most prevalent were asbestosis, lung cancer, diseases of pleura or pericardium and mesothelioma. A considerable increase in the number of such cases from the beginning of their registration until 2004 occurred after introduction of the Amiantus programme, a nationwide programme of periodic medical examinations for former asbestos workers. Conclusions Introduction of a medical surveillance programme improved case recognition and allowed a more reliable estimate of the number of reported asbestos-related diseases.

In Poland, the use of asbestos was banned in 1997 and asbestos plants have been closed since then. Despite their closure, cases of asbestos-related occupational diseases among former asbestos workers are still being recorded in the Central Register of Occupational Diseases. Between 2001 and 2014, there were 2726 asbestos-related illnesses, classified and reported as diseases associated with occupational exposure to asbestos. In 2000, Poland introduced a programme called Amiantus, targeted at former asbestos-processing plant workers. The programme provided periodic medical examinations to workers and free access to medications for treatment of asbestos-related illnesses. Introduction of the programme provided additional data to generate a reliable estimation of the number of asbestos-related occupational diseases, including cancer. The average latency period for asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma is about 40 years so there may still be some health impact to former workers necessitating follow-up. We present the Polish experience of implementing a medical examination programme for asbestos-exposed workers and provide a list of activities to consider when planning for such a programme.En Pologne, l'utilisation de l'amiante a été interdite en 1997 et depuis, les usines d'amiante ont été fermées. Malgré leur fermeture, des cas de maladies professionnelles liées à l'amiante chez les anciens travailleurs de l'amiante continuent d'être enregistrés dans le Registre central des maladies professionnelles. Entre 2001 et 2014, 2726 maladies liées à l'amiante ont été classifiées et consignées dans la catégorie des maladies associées à une exposition professionnelle à l'amiante. En 2000, la Pologne a mis en œuvre un programme appeléEn Polonia, el uso del amianto se prohibió en 1997 y, desde entonces, las plantas de tratamiento del amianto están cerradas. A pesar de su cierre, siguen registrándose casos de enfermedades laborales relacionadas con el amianto entre los antiguos trabajadores de este material. Entre 2001 y 2014, se detectaron 2 726 casos de enfermedades relacionadas con el amianto, clasificadas y registradas como enfermedades asociadas a la exposición laboral al amianto en el registro central de enfermedades laborales. En el año 2000, Polonia presentó un programa tituladoتم حظر الأسبستوس في بولندا في عام 1997 كما خضعت منشآت تصنيع المنتجات من الأسبستوس إلى الإغلاق منذ ذلك الحين. وبالرغم من إغلاق تلك المنشآت، ما زال يشهد السجل المركزي للأمراض المهنية تسجيلات لحالات من الإصابة بأمراض مهنية تتعلق بالأسبستوس لدى العاملين الذين سبق لهم العمل في تصنيع المنتجات من الأسبستوس. وظهرت في الفترة بين عامي 2001 و2014 أمراض تتعلق بالأسبستوس بلغ عددها 2726، حيث تم تصنيفها والإبلاغ بها كأمراض ترتبط بالتعرض إلى الأسبستوس بسبب طبيعة المهنة. وطرحت بولندا في عام 2000 برنامجًا باسم波兰于 1997 年禁止使用石棉，并随之关闭了石棉厂。 尽管关闭了石棉厂，但是根据职业病登记中心的记载，前石棉厂工人中仍有人出现石棉相关职业病。 在 2001 到 2014 年间，共有 2726 例石棉相关疾病被归类为和列为职业性接触石棉相关疾病。 2000 年，波兰针对前石棉加工厂工人推出了一项名为В Польше применение асбеста было запрещено в 1997 году, и с тех пор предприятия, работающие с асбестом, закрыты. Несмотря на прекращение их деятельности, в Центральном реестре профессиональных заболеваний по-прежнему регистрируются случаи заболеваний, связанных с асбестом, среди бывших работников предприятий асбестовой промышленности. За период между 2001 и 2014 годами 2726 случаев болезней, связанных с асбестом, были классифицированы и зарегистрированы как болезни, связанные с воздействием асбеста на рабочем месте. В 2000 году Польша предложила программу под названием Amiantus, предназначенную для бывших работников асбестообрабатывающих предприятий. Для работников программа предусматривала периодическое медицинское наблюдение и свободный доступ к лекарственным препаратам для лечения болезней, связанных с асбестом. В результате внедрения программы были получены дополнительные данные, с помощью которых была дана достоверная оценка заболеваемости профессиональными болезнями, связанными с асбестом, в том числе раком. В среднем латентный период асбестоза, рака легких и мезотелиомы составляет приблизительно 40 лет, поэтому негативное воздействие на здоровье бывших работников по-прежнему не исключено и им требуется последующее врачебное наблюдение. Авторы описывают опыт Польши в плане реализации программы медицинского наблюдения для работников, подвергавшихся воздействию асбеста, и перечисляют мероприятия, которые необходимо учесть при разработке такой программы.

Background: The paper presents the incidence of occupational diseases in Poland (2013). Material and Methods: Occupational disease reporting forms, supplied to the Central Register of Occupational Diseases, were used as the study material. The incidence was specified in terms of rates per 100 000 employed people. Results: The number of new cases was 2214 with the incidence rate of 15.6. The downward trend recorded over several years continues; compared to 2012, the number of new cases decreased by 7.8%. Exposure to dusts (35% cases), mostly inorganic (carbon, asbestos, and industrial dusts containing free crystalline silica) was the most common cause of occupational diseases. Among the organic dusts allergenic effects of flour and vegetable dusts predominated. Every 3rd case of occupational disease was attributable to physical agents, mainly the way the work is done, excessive vocal effort and noise. The sections of national economy with the highest incidence comprised mining and quarrying (271.1), manufacturing (24.3), education (22.4), agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing (21.0), human health and social assistance (20.5). Conclusions: The decreased incidence of ‘traditional’ diseases observed over the recent 15 years and the analysis of the 2013 incidence indicate a need to revise the Polish list of occupational diseases by exposures found in the modern work environment. Particular attention should be paid to conditions prevailing in workplaces with high exposures to industrial dusts containing free crystalline silica. A considerable variation in the incidence of voice disorders in teachers between individual voivodeships (provinces) points to the need for harmonization of the standards of preventive, diagnostic and certification procedures. Med Pr 2014;65(4):463–472

Objective To assess further progression of spirometry parameters among former asbestos-cement plant workers. Methods The following parameters were assessed: forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), and the ratio (FEV1/FVC) using a linear regression model with mixed effects. Results The analysis included 3005 individuals. Spirometrically defined restrictive ventilatory defects were registered in 21.6% of the patients, obstructive defects in 8.3%, whereas mixed changes in 7%. Current smokers had significantly lower levels of FEV1, FVC, and FEV1/FVC and a steeper decline compared with nonsmokers. More rapid progression was also observed along with increasing termination of exposure. Having higher exposure was associated with a slower decline in FEV1 and FEV1/FVC ratios. Conclusions This report indicates that asbestos-cement workers with higher cumulative exposure still had lower mean levels of spirometric parameters, despite cessation of asbestos exposure many years ago.

We conducted a genome-wide association study of oral cavity and pharyngeal cancer in 6,034 cases and 6,585 controls from Europe, North America and South America. We detected eight significantly associated loci (P < 5 × 10(-8)), seven of which are new for these cancer sites. Oral and pharyngeal cancers combined were associated with loci at 6p21.32 (rs3828805, HLA-DQB1), 10q26.13 (rs201982221, LHPP) and 11p15.4 (rs1453414, OR52N2-TRIM5). Oral cancer was associated with two new regions, 2p23.3 (rs6547741, GPN1) and 9q34.12 (rs928674, LAMC3), and with known cancer-related loci-9p21.3 (rs8181047, CDKN2B-AS1) and 5p15.33 (rs10462706, CLPTM1L). Oropharyngeal cancer associations were limited to the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region, and classical HLA allele imputation showed a protective association with the class II haplotype HLA-DRB1*1301-HLA-DQA1*0103-HLA-DQB1*0603 (odds ratio (OR) = 0.59, P = 2.7 × 10(-9)). Stratified analyses on a subgroup of oropharyngeal cases with information available on human papillomavirus (HPV) status indicated that this association was considerably stronger in HPV-positive (OR = 0.23, P = 1.6 × 10(-6)) than in HPV-negative (OR = 0.75, P = 0.16) cancers. Genotyping performed at the Center for Inherited Disease Research (CIDR) was funded through the U.S. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) grant 1X01HG007780-0. Genotyping for shared controls with the Lung OncoArray initiative was funded through the grant X01HG007492-0. Corina Lesseur undertook this work during the tenure of a Postdoctoral Fellowship awarded by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The funders did not participate in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. We acknowledge all of the participants involved in this research and the funders and support. We thank Dr. Leticia Fernandez (Instituto Nacional de Oncologia y Radiobiologia, La Habana, Cuba) for her contribution to the IARC ORC multicenter study. We are also grateful to Sergio Koifman (Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) for his contribution to the IARC Latin America multicenter study (Sergio Koifman passed away in May 2014) and to Xavier Castellsagué from the ARCAGE Barcelona Center who recently passed away (June 2016). The University of Pittsburgh head and neck cancer case-control study is supported by National Institutes of Health grants P50 CA097190 and P30 CA047904. The Carolina Head and Neck Cancer Study (CHANCE) was supported by the National Cancer Institute (R01-CA90731). The Head and Neck Genome Project (GENCAPO) was supported by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) (Grant numbers 04/12054-9 and 10/51168-0). The authors thank all the members of the GENCAPO team. The HN5000 study was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under its Programme Grants for Applied Research scheme (RP-PG-0707-10034), the views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health. The Toronto study was funded by the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute (020214) and the National Cancer Institute (U19 CA148127) and the Cancer Care Ontario Research Chair. The alcohol-related cancers and genetic susceptibility study in Europe (ARCAGE) was funded by the European Commission’s 5th Framework Program (QLK1-2001-00182), the Italian Association for Cancer Research, Compagnia di San Paolo/FIRMS, Region Piemonte, and Padova University (CPDA057222).The Rome Study was supported by the Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro (AIRC) IG 2011 10491 and IG2013 14220 to SB, and Fondazione Veronesi to SB. The IARC Latin American study was funded by the European Commission INCO-DC programme (IC18-CT97-0222), with additional funding from Fondo para la Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica (Argentina) and the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (01/01768-2). The IARC Central Europe study was supported by European Commission’s INCO-COPERNICUS Program (IC15-CT98-0332), NIH/National Cancer Institute grant CA92039, and the World Cancer Research Foundation grant WCRF 99A28.The IARC Oral Cancer Multicenter study was funded by: grant S06 96 202489 05F02 from Europe against Cancer; Grants FIS 97/0024, FIS 97/0662, and BAE 01/5013 from Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias, Spain; UICC Yamagiwa-Yoshida Memorial International Cancer Study; National Cancer Institute of Canada; Italian Association for Research on Cancer; and the Pan American Health Organization. The coordination of EPIC study is financially supported

Background Because asbestos dust is considered one of the most dangerous types of dust for people’s health, issues related to the effects of asbestos exposure still remain questions about the role of cessation of exposure. Objectives The aim of the present study was to determine the importance of temporal patterns, especially the time since the end of exposure in the risk of pleural mesothelioma. Methods A total of 131 patients with pleural mesothelioma and 655 frequency matched by gender and year of birth controls enrolled in the health surveillance programme for asbestos-related diseases over the years 2000–2014, were included in the analysis. Conditional logistic regression models were applied to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Results The results show that the risk of pleural mesothelioma continued to increase even after 40 years since the last exposure. The estimated odds ratio for the subjects who had their last exposure 40 years ago, compared with the odds ratio of those who had their last exposure 5 years ago, was 2.68 (95%CI: 1.16–.621). We also observed that crocidolite exposure was associated with a very high significant mesothelioma risk, 5-fold higher for those working with mixed exposure compared to the subjects who worked only with chrysotile. Conclusions Dose-response relationships in populations occupationally exposed are critical to the study related to environment asbestos contamination. Our findings confirm the strong evidence that mesothelioma risk increases along with the increasing time since exposure termination.

The aim of the annual analysis of the incidence of occupational diseases in Poland is to evaluate the extent of the incidence and to identify its causes as well as activities involving factors that are harmful or annoying to such an extent that they result in occupational diseases.Occupational diseases reporting forms supplied to the Central Register of Occupational Diseases were used as the study material.In 2014, there were 2351 cases of occupational diseases recorded, i.e., 16.5 cases per 100 thousand of employees. The most numerous categories comprised infectious or parasitic diseases (borreliosis), pneumoconiosis, voice disorders and hearing loss (in total 79.7% of cases). The main causative factors of occupational diseases were as follows: industrial dust containing free silica, tick-transmitted Borrelia spirochete, and the way the work is done, including excessive vocal effort, and noise. The highest incidence per 100 thousand workers were recorded in mining and quarrying (296), manufacturing (24.9), education (24.6), agriculture and forestry (24.2) sectors.Compared with the previous year, there was a slight increase in the number of cases of certified occupational diseases (6.2%), primarily due to the increased incidence of Lyme disease. The incidence of voice disorders among teachers continues to vary considerably in individual provinces (0-11.3/10 000), reflecting the use of non-uniform diagnostic and certification methods. Med Pr 2016;67(3):327-335.Celem corocznej analizy zapadalności na choroby zawodowe w Polsce jest ocena poziomu zjawiska oraz identyfikacja przyczyn i rodzajów działalności, w których występują czynniki szkodliwe lub uciążliwe w stopniu wywołującym patologię zawodową.Analizę przeprowadzono na podstawie „Kart stwierdzenia choroby zawodowej” przesłanych obligatoryjnie przez stacje sanitarno-epidemiologiczne do Centralnego Rejestru Chorób Zawodowych.W 2014 r. odnotowano 2351 przypadków chorób zawodowych, tj. 16,5 przypadków na 100 tys. pracujących. Najliczniej stwierdzano choroby zakaźne lub pasożytnicze (borelioza), pylice płuc, choroby narządu głosu i ubytek słuchu (w sumie 79,7% przypadków). Głównymi czynnikami przyczynowymi chorób zawodowych w 2014 r. były: pył przemysłowy zawierający wolną krzemionkę, przenoszony przez kleszcze krętek Borrelia i sposób wykonywania pracy, w tym nadmierny wysiłek głosowy i hałas. Najwyższą zapadalność na 100 tys. pracujących odnotowano w górnictwie (296), przetwórstwie przemysłowym (24,9), edukacji (24,6) oraz rolnictwie i leśnictwie (24,2).W porównaniu z rokiem 2013 nastąpił niewielki wzrost liczby przypadków (o 6,2%) chorób zawodowych, spowodowany głównie zwiększeniem przypadków boreliozy. W poszczególnych województwach nadal obserwowane jest znaczne zróżnicowanie zapadalności nauczycieli na choroby narządu głosu (0–11,3/10 tys.), które wskazuje na niejednolitość stosowanych metod diagnostycznych i orzeczniczych. Med. Pr. 2016;67(3):327–335.

The study's objective is to present epidemiological situation concerning the incidence of occupational diseases among farmers in Poland.All 3438 cases of occupational diseases diagnosed among farmers and obligatorily reported to the Central Register of Occupational Diseases (covering all the national territory and all the cases of occupational diseases diagnosed in Poland after 1970) over the years 2000-2014 were subjected to analysis.The annual incidence in the analyzed period ranged 5-14 per 100 000 farmers. The analysis showed that about 90% of pathologies were induced by the biological agents. Almost every third pathology due to biological agents had allergic origin. Infectious and parasitic diseases accounted for 62% of the cases. Among them the diseases carried by ticks (93%) - borreliosis (85.8%) and tick-borne encephalitis (7.2%) were the most frequent ones. The age of farmers, in the case of whom bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis were diagnosed, was significantly higher than the age of remaining employees of the national economy, in which these occupational diseases were recognized.The study indicates the necessity to introduce periodic health examinations programs focusing on agricultural workers to monitor health and well-being and improve working conditions and the working environment. Med Pr 2016;67(2):163-171.Celem pracy jest przedstawienie sytuacji epidemiologicznej rolników w Polsce dotyczącej zapadalności na choroby zawodowe.Przeanalizowano 3438 przypadków chorób zawodowych, stwierdzonych zgodnie z obowiązującym w Polsce systemem orzeczniczym i obligatoryjnie zgłoszonych w latach 2000–2014 do Centralnego Rejestru Chorób Zawodowych (obejmującego terytorium całej Polski od roku 1970).Zapadalność roczna w analizowanym okresie wynosiła 5–14 przypadków na 100 000 pracujących. Około 90% stwierdzonych patologii wywołały czynniki biologiczne, a niemal co trzecia z tych patologii miała podłoże alergiczne. Choroby zakaźne i pasożytnicze stanowiły 62% zgłoszonych przypadków. Wśród nich najczęstsze były choroby przenoszone przez kleszcze (93%) – borelioza (85,8%) i kleszczowe zapalenie mózgu (7,2%). Wiek rolników, u których stwierdzono astmę oskrzelową i alergiczny nieżyt nosa, był o ok. 10 lat wyższy niż wiek pracowników z tymi chorobami zawodowymi w pozostałych sektorach gospodarki narodowej.Należy wprowadzić programy okresowych badań profilaktycznych skierowane do osób pracujących w rolnictwie w celu poprawy warunków środowiska ich pracy oraz monitorowania stanu ich zdrowia. Med. Pr. 2016;67(2):163–171.

Objectives Despite extensive literature concerning the risk of lung cancer incidence among asbestos workers there is still lack of data specifying the association between the level of exposure and the frequency of cancer occurrence. The aim of the analysis was to assess the influence of smoking and selected factors related to occupational exposure on the risk of the incidence of lung cancer among the workers who were exposed to asbestos dust in the past. Material and methods The assessment was performed based on the case-control studies carried out within a cohort including 7,374 former workers of asbestos processing plants, examined over the years 2000–2013. Analysis of the material was based on the calculation of the odds ratio (OR) using conditional logistic regression modeling, adjusted for cigarette smoking, cumulative exposure, branch and time since last exposure. Results During the survey period there were 165 cases of lung cancer. Among the individuals who smoked, the relative risk of lung cancer incidence was twice as high in the persons smoking more than 20 pack-years (OR = 2.23; 95%CI: 1.45–3.46) than it was in the case of the non-smokers. Analysis revealed that the risk of lung cancer in the group with the highest exposure was two times higher in comparison with the low cumulative asbestos exposure (OR = 1.99; 95%CI: 1.22–3.25). The risk continued to increase until 30 years after cessation of asbestos exposure and started to decline many years after the last exposure. Influence of the mentioned above characteristics is particularly visible for tumors located in the lower parts of the lungs. Conclusion Our findings confirm the strong evidence that the lung cancer risk is associated with asbestos exposure and it increases along with the increasing exposure. A strategy of smoking cessation among the individuals exposed to asbestos dust would potentially have health promoting effects.

Background: The aim of the paper was to present basic statistical data on occupational diseases diagnosed in 2012. Material and Methods: The work was based on the data from "Occupational Disease Reporting Forms" received by the Central Register of Occupational Diseases in 2012. The data comprised information on nosologic units, gender and age of patients, duration of occupational exposure, sections of the national economy and voivodeships. The incidence was specified in terms of the number of cases in relation to paid employees or to employed people. Results: The number of occupational diseases accounted for 2402 cases. The incidence rate was 23 cases per 100 000 paid employees. In spite of the general decline in the number of cases, the incidence of infectious and parasitic diseases increased by 8.6%. The highest incidence was noted for infectious and parasitic diseases (6.8/100 000), pneumoconioses (5.5/100 000), hearing loss (2.1/100 000), diseases of: the peripheral nervous system (2/100 000), voice disorders (1.9/100 000) and the musculo-skeletal system pathologies (1.1/100 000). The pathologies specified above accounted in total for 84% of all occupational diseases. The industrial sectors of the national economy characterized by the highest incidence included mining and quarrying (288.3/100 000) and manufacturing (27.8/100 000). The highest incidence was recorded in the Silesian (46.2/100 000) and the lowest in the Opolskie (4.2/100 000) voivodeships. Conclusions: The downward trend in the incidence of occupational diseases continues. Different incidence of voice disorders among teachers in individual provinces suggests that uniform preventive, diagnostic and certification standards are missing. Med Pr 2013;64(3):317–326

Environmental exposure of the general population to asbestos in Poland is mainly due to degradation of very popular asbestos-cement products and the resultant release of the elementary asbestos fibres into the ambient air. Assessments of environmental pollution by asbestos were based on the volume of the raw material used, amount of manufactured asbestos products, and measuring the concentration of fibres in the air.Under the governmental program intended to remove asbestos, measurements of the concentration of asbestos fibres were performed in 2004-2010 in all provinces of Poland. Considering that potential sources of asbestos dust emissions were present in residential areas, 1634 sampling sites were designated. From 2 to 4 air samples were collected at each sampling site. A total of 5962 samples were collected during seven years. A single dose of air collected by 25 mm 0.8 μm pore Sartorius filter was 1,300 litres. The fibres were counted using optical microscopy with phase contrast (PCM) on a polarizing microscope (PLM) at a total magnification of 600×.; method was adapted to determine the concentration of asbestos fibres in non-occupational environment.Mean concentration of asbestos fibres was 492 f/m(3) (95% CI: 467-518). In 82% of the sampling sites, the mean concentrations did not exceed 800 f/m(3). As much as 25.8% of the samples were found to be below the detection limit of the method. Estimated mean concentrations of fibres in different provinces ranged from 146 (95% CI: 106-203) to 709 f/m(3) (95% CI: 591-851). In the areas affected by former asbestos-processing plants, mean concentration was 732 f/m(3) (95% CI: 527-1016) and was significantly higher than levels recorded in other areas of Poland.Asbestos consumption per capita and the recorded moderate levels of asbestos fibres concentration in atmospheric air point to a relatively low level of environmental asbestos pollution in Poland.

The presentation addresses current problems of health risk and health effects associated with exposure to asbestos, including data on historical exposure and on currently valid occupational exposure limits. The quantity and types of the raw material used for the production of various asbestos products have also been discussed in relation to the particular types of asbestos-induced occupational diseases. The authors describe the medical care system for former asbestos workers and those currently exposed during removal of asbestos-containing products. The national system for medical certification of occupational asbestos-related diseases and the compensation procedure have been outlined as well. According to the parliamentary Act of 1997, importing, manufacture and sale of asbestos and asbestos-containing materials are prohibited in Poland. Thus, the assessment of asbestos exposure and the monitoring of health conditions of workers at asbestos-processing plants have become irrelevant. However, the delayed health effects attributable to past exposure continue to be the matter of concern for public health. Likewise, the environmental pollution from asbestos waste landfills in the vicinity of asbestos-processing plants (where high levels of asbestos fibre in ambient air have been recorded) will continue to be a serious public health problem. Presently, two programmes aimed at minimising the adverse effects of asbestos on population health are underway. One of them is the governmental programme for “Elimination of asbestos and asbestos-containing products used in Poland, 2002–2032”. The programme was updated in 2009 to cover the workers contracted to perform demolition works and provide protective covers to asbestos waste landfills. This will be the exposed group who need prophylactic health care. The other is a programme of prophylactic examinations for former asbestos workers and is referred to as the AMIANTUS programme. Both programmes have been briefly described.

Objectives Current situation in the epidemiology of occupational diseases is a resultant of many contributing factors, such as occupational exposures of the working population, social and economic conditions, medical measures, legislation, and ongoing changes in the national economy. Materials and methods This work is based on the information compiled from reporting forms on occupational diseases gathered in the Central Register of Occupational Diseases run by the Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Lodź, Poland. Results A systematic downward trend in the number of occupational diseases has already been observed over several years. In 1998, as many as 12 017 cases were recorded (117.3 per 100,000 workers), while in 2005, this number was reduced to 3249 (34.8 per 100 000). In 2005, the highest incidence rates were noted for chronic voice disorders, pneumoconioses, infectious and parasitic diseases, hearing loss, and skin diseases. The observed decrease in occupational pathology is associated with continued transformations in the national economy. Changes in the nature and level of occupational exposures have influenced the profile of occupational pathologies. Medical preventive measures, such as vaccinations covering high-risk groups have contributed to the reduced incidence of occupational diseases. For example, the number of cases of occupation-related viral hepatitis was seven times lower in 2005 than in 1993. The 2005 data show that over 50% of occupational diseases were diagnosed in workers employed outside industry. Conclusions Changes taking place on the labor market, new technologies and most of all transfer of the workforce from industry to the service and administration sectors, will certainly affect the profile of occupational and work-related pathologies. In the present-day environment, the work-related stress has become a dominant factor.