PERIODIC MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS: THEIR EFFECTIVENESS AND ROLE IN EARLY DETECTION OF DISEASES

Abstract. Introduction. Periodic medical examinations are aimed at dynamic monitoring of the employees’ health status and timely detection of occupational and somatic diseases. Aim of the study is to assess the effectiveness of periodic medical examinations for the years 2019-2023, based on the analysis of annual reports of 45 territories of the Republic of Tatarstan. Materials and Methods. The study used annual reports of the republic’s and city centers of occupational pathology. For statistical analysis, the methods of descriptive statistics and tabular presentation were used, qualitative indicators are presented as absolute (n) and relative values (%) of the occurrence of the feature studied. To study the differences in qualitative features of several populations, the c2 (chi-square) criterion was used. Results and Discussion. About 300 thousand employees undergo periodic medical examinations in the republic annually (297,313 people in 2019, 277,291 in 2020, 273,294 in 2021, 316,508 in 2022, and 307,437 in 2023). On average, the coverage of periodic medical examinations is 96-97%. In 2023, cases of occupational diseases were registered in 15 administrative territories, including Kazan and Naberezhnye Chelny (19 in 2019, 20 in 2020, 20 in 2021,and 27 in 2022). For the first time, 32,216 chronic somatic diseases were identified in 2023, accounting for 10.5% of all those who underwent periodic medical examinations (7.9 % in 2022, 11.7% in 2021, 11.2% in 2020, and 11.7% in 2019). It is still problematic to organize medical examinations of those employed by agricultural enterprises. Not all eligible persons undergo a medical examination; at many enterprises, medical examinations are carried out only for those belonging to decreed groups and/or working in contact with pesticides. Conclusions. An important prerequisite for the timely detection of initial forms of occupational and somatic diseases, early signs of the impact of harmful production factors on the employees’ health with the subsequent formation of risk groups for the development of occupational diseases should be mandatory periodic medical examinations conducted in the center of occupational pathology for persons with 5 years of working experience in harmful working conditions, with repeatedly conducting the same once every 5 years. Industrial medical examinations contribute to the detection of diseases at early stages.