The carotid intima media thickness in coal miners

Abstract

Aim: The cardiovascular diseases are one of the most frequent causes of death in coal miners. Atherosclerosis is the most frequent cause of cardiovascular disease around the world. The subclinical atherosclerosis can be diagnosed thanks to the localization of carotid arteries by measuring carotid intima media thickness via Doppler ultrasonography. In this study, the aim was to investigate whether the chronic exposure to coal mine dust contributes to atherosclerotic process. Method: The study was designed as a single center, retrospective survey, consisting of 25 young coal miners, 25 veteran coal miners, 25 young people and 25 healthy elderly people who have never exposed to coal mine dusts. The carotid Doppler ultrasonography, biochemical tests, echocardiography, respiratory function test results were recorded from the files of the cases. Results: There was not any significant difference as for carotid intima-media thickness between coal miners and healthy young group(0.66±0.16 vs 0.65±0.16; p=0.994), while there was a significant difference between veteran coal miners and healthy elderly group (0.99±0.09 vs. 0.81±0.13; p<0.05). Conclusion: In this study, it was found that the carotid intima-media thickness, which is used in order to diagnose atherosclerosis in early stage, increased after chronic exposure to coal mine dust. Therefore, it can be thought that professional questioning may be beneficial while determining the risk factors of individuals in terms of atherosclerosis.