The prevalence of asthma and pneumoconiosis among dental professionals and technicians: a systematic review and meta-analysis

With the increasing use of dental services and the consequent rise in the use of various materials, the prevalence of respiratory disorders and respiratory symptoms associated with these chemicals and pollutants has increased. Therefore, in this systematic review and meta-analysis, we aim to evaluate the prevalence of asthma and pneumoconiosis among dental professionals and technicians. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Clarivate analytics databases. Based on the PRISMA checklist (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses), first the title and abstract and after that the full-text of retrieved studies were screened and relevant studies were included. The required data was extracted from the studies. To assess the quality of studies, the Newcastle-Ottawa scale checklist was used. Heterogeneity between included studies was measured using the I-square statistic. To examine the possibility of publication bias, the Egger’s test and funnel plot were used and sensitivity analysis was also performed. Thirty studies (10 studies on asthma and 20 studies on pneumoconiosis) were included in the meta-analysis. A total of 7,603 people were included in the analysis of asthma prevalence. The results of the meta-analysis showed that the prevalence of asthma among dental professionals and technicians was 6.9% (95% confidence interval (CI): 4.9-8.9%). A total of 2790 people were included in the analysis of pneumoconiosis. The results of a meta-analysis of studies revealed that the prevalence of pneumoconiosis among dental professionals and technicians was 19.8% (95%CI: 15.2-24.5%). The observed prevalence of asthma and pneumoconiosis among dental professionals and technicians is substantial and raises concerns regarding their occupational respiratory health. These findings highlight the importance of appropriate preventive measures, occupational health monitoring, and further research to better characterize respiratory risks in this population.