Overview
Asbestosis is a specific disease characteristic of people whose profession is related to the inhalation of asbestos. Most often, asbestosis is diagnosed in workers employed in the field of thermal insulation, since materials to reduce thermal conductivity contain asbestos.
The risk for this disease is also high among miners, builders, workers in the textile industry, as well as people not employed in these professions, but living near mines and large industrial enterprises.
The main types of asbestos that provoke asbestosis are chrysotile, chrocidotil and amosite.
Inhalation of the finest dust provokes the deposition of asbestos fibers in the respiratory tract and deep in the lungs. At the same time, the pleura gradually thickens and interstitial tissue fibrosis develops.
There are also cases when it is not possible to trace the connection between the occurrence of asbestosis and the presence of asbestos in the patient's environment. Benign focal lesions of the pleura and effusion, some malignant tumors of the lung and malignant pleural mesothelioma in some cases are also diagnosed as "asbestosis".