The state and dynamics of occupational morbidity in the Murmansk region

Introduction. In recent years researchers have recorded the highest levels of occupational morbidity among the subjects of the Russian Federation, in the Murmansk Region.

The study aims to identify trends in changes in the levels and structure of occupational morbidity among workers of various specialties and types of economic activity in the Murmansk region in 2003–2023.

Materials and methods. The authors analyzed the data of the Murmansk region register of occupational diseases for 2003–2023.

Results. In 2003–2023, occupational morbidity in the Murmansk Region was 1.24–11.68 times higher than the national figures. For the first time, the authors identified 5,298 occupational diseases in 2,613 workers, mainly mining (56.1%) and metallurgical (25.7%) enterprises. In the structure of pathology, radiculopathy (16.0%), vibration disease (16.0%) and sensorineural hearing loss (15.8%) were the most common. The features of occupational pathology in 2003–2023 were: an increase in the proportion of miners (p<0.001) and a decrease in the proportion of metallurgists (p<0.001), an increase in the proportion of radiculopathy and vibration disease in the pathology structure (p<0.001), a decrease in the proportion of sensorineural hearing loss and especially (5.5 times) chronic bronchitis (p<0.001). In addition, there was an increase in work experience before the development of pathology, which was accompanied by an increase in the number of various diseases in one employee (from 1.77±0.03 to 2.16±0.06 cases, p<0.001).

Limitations. The possibility of registering occupational diseases that have arisen in the Murmansk region and in other regions of Russia.

Conclusion. In the Murmansk region in 2003–2023, there was no decrease in occupational morbidity, which requires clarification of the reasons for the ineffectiveness of preventive measures.

Ethics. This study does not require the conclusion of a biomedical Ethics Committee or other documents.

Contributions:
Syurin S.A. — the concept and design of research, writing the text of the article;
Kovshov A.A. — statistical processing and analysis of results, editing.

Funding. The study had no funding.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: 18.08.2025 / Accepted: 05.06.2025 / Published: 30.10.2025

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