Prevalence and pathogenesis of pneumoconiosis in coal workers

Dust dose and composition do not appear to account wholly for changes in the prevalence of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis in Europe. In certain coal pits high progression evidently occurred with relatively low dust exposure or vice versa, whereas progression in relation to dust levels might be variable. Exceptionally high quartz concentrations occur in coal mine dust when pneumoconiosis may progress with unusual rapidity. Under such circumstances lesions resembling silicotic nodules may be found, but with the customarily lower levels of quartz the pathological features assume the form characteristic of coal workers. Morphological changes in relation to dust content of human and animal lungs, as well as cellular behavior, have not accounted completely for the epidemiological findings. Considering all the pathological evidence helps explain the pathogenesis of pneumoconiosis and vagaries of progression. The origin of progressive massive fibrosis cannot be explained simply in terms of dust burden or immunological features, and the role of an infective factor cannot be dismissed. Moreover, lipid secretion by alveolar epithelium introduces a new element that could affect the development of simple and complicated pneumoconiosis. In vitro, cytotoxicity appeared to be too variable for predictive purposes, though direct assay of fibrogenicity using the macrophage fibrogenic factor suggested that dust dose was more important than dust composition. Assessing individual susceptibility presents serious obstacles.