Effects of occupational exposure to dust on chest radiograph, pulmonary function, blood pressure and electrocardiogram among coal miners in an eastern province, China

BACKGROUND: Coal dust is one of the most serious risk factor that leads to respiratory diseases and cardiovascular diseases in miners. This study aimed to observe the effects of occupational dust exposure on chest radiograph, pulmonary function (PF), blood pressure (BP) and electrocardiogram (ECG) indexes in coal miners and explore the related risk factors. METHODS: In the Chinese Occupational Disease Monitoring and Occupational Health Risk Assessment Program, a total of 11,061 subjects in 2015 and 12,597 subjects in 2016 were recruited in this study. The chest radiograph, PF, BP and ECG of coal miners were surveyed using radiograph machine, spirometer, sphygmomanometer and electrocardiograph, respectively. RESULTS: The prevalence of aberrant BP was the highest in coal miners, followed by abnormal ECG, PF and radiograph. Significant differences in abnormal BP, ECG, PF and radiograph of coal miners were closely associated with age, years of dust exposure, smoking, drinking, working types and size of mines. A total of 80 persons diagnosed with coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP) in 2015–2016, which occupied 0.34% of the coal miners. CONCLUSION: Abnormal BP, ECG, PF and radiograph of coal miners are highlighted health problems in China and require serious attention. Feasible health promotion and protective facilities should be adopted to guarantee coal miners’ health. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-019-7568-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.