Home > The news of EUROGIP and occupational risks in Europe >
In its report published in December 2014, the FIOH reviews diseases suspected or recognized as being of work-related origin in Finland in 2012. 4404 cases were recorded in the Finnish Occupational Disease Register, i.e. 18 cases per 10,000 employees. This figure is 6% lower than in 2011. At the top of the list of reported and recognized diseases are noise-related hearing loss, skin diseases and respiratory allergies.
The rate of recognition of occupational diseases reported to all the insurance companies(1) was 40%; the rate is even higher for noise-related hearing loss and asbestos-related diseases, but it is lower for asthma.
The disease most commonly recognized and suspected as being work-related is noise-related hearing loss, with 1066 reported cases and one in every two cases recognized as an occupational disease. Men are affected ten times more than women. In most cases, hearing loss gave rise to no compensation.
There were 944 cases of suspected and recognized skin diseases, 28% of which were allergic contact dermatitis and 23% irritative contact dermatitis. The recognition rate was 36%.
In all, 874 cases of respiratory allergies were reported, including 662 cases of asthma. Women are most commonly affected (68%), in particular those in the 19 to 45 age group. The recognition rate for allergic respiratory diseases was 12%.
Suspected and recognized asbestos-related diseases accounted for 726 cases, including 509 cases of pleural plaques, 62 asbestosis cases and 121 cancers.
At the bottom of the list come musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), with 465 cases recorded, half of which were epicondylitis cases, followed by tenosynovitis/peritendinitis, then carpal tunnel syndromes. The recognition rate for MSDs was 37%.
Read the Report (In English)
