https://doi.org/10.33573/ujoh2025.04.283
1 State Institution “Ukrainian State Scientific Research Institute of Medical and Social Problems of Disability of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine”, Dnipro, Ukraine
2 State Institution “Kundiiev Institute of Occupational Health of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine”, Kyiv, Ukraine
3 P. L. Shupyk National University of Health Care of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
Full article (PDF), UKRIntroduction.
Over recent decades, Ukraine has experienced a substantial decline in labor potential due to a reduction in the working-age population caused by mortality, injuries, migration, and disability. This situation has been significantly aggravated by the Russian occupation of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (2014–2021), as well as by the full-scale aggression against Ukraine since 2022. Despite existing achievements in disability prevention, occupational disability prevention, and the development of vocational rehabilitation for persons with disabilities, considerable scientific gaps remain in the epidemiology and prevention of occupational disability. Addressing these gaps is essential for preserving and restoring Ukraine’s labor potential during wartime and in the post-war period.
Purpose.
To identify patterns in the formation of primary disability among the population of Ukraine resulting from occupational diseases and accidents at work.
Materials and methods.
A 15-year longitudinal epidemiological study was conducted to analyze trends in primary disability in Ukraine, including overall disability, disability due to occupational diseases, and disability due to occupational injuries and poisonings. The dynamics of permanent loss of professional working capacity resulting from occupational diseases and work-related accidents were also assessed.
Results.
Between 2010 and 2024, overall primary disability due to all diseases and pathological conditions increased 2.3-fold among adults (from 38.1 to 86.6 per 10,000 population) and 2.0-fold among the working-age population (from 38.8 to 78.2 per 10,000). In contrast, primary disability due to occupational diseases, occupational injuries, and poisonings decreased twofold among both adults (from 1.38 to 0.67 per 10,000) and the working-age population (from 1.57 to 0.79 per 10,000). The rate of establishing a percentage of permanent loss of work capacity also declined (from 3.44 to 1.77 per 10,000 working-age population).
The average proportion of individuals with occupational diseases and work-related accidents who were recognized as having primary disability was 27.2 ± 0.1% in 2010–2013, 32.7 ± 0.2% in 2014–2019, and 29.4 ± 0.2% in 2020–2024. The proportion of cases with established permanent loss of work capacity decreased from 14.0 ± 0.1% (2010–2013) to 9.3 ± 0.2% (2014–2019) and 8.1 ± 0.2% (2020–2024). Overall, 80.1 ± 0.1% of individuals with occupational diseases or work-related accidents had permanent loss of work capacity and required state insurance payments, while persons with disabilities required long-term financial (pension), medical, and social support.
More than 97% of primary disability cases due to occupational diseases during 2010–2024 were concentrated in nine regions of Ukraine (Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhia, and Volyn). Over 85% of primary disability cases due to occupational injuries and poisonings were recorded in fifteen regions, including Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Luhansk, Vinnytsia, Lviv, Kharkiv, Poltava, Odesa, Cherkasy, Rivne, Volyn, Zaporizhia, Zhytomyr, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Kyiv regions.
Conclusions.
In total, 80.1 ± 0.1% of individuals with occupational diseases and work-related accidents (injuries and poisonings) experience permanent loss of work capacity and require state insurance compensation, while persons with disabilities need long-term financial (pension), medical, and social support. Russian aggression has had a substantial impact on occupational and permanent disability in Ukraine, leading since 2013 to large-scale losses of production resources and deterioration of healthcare provision in occupied, annexed, and frontline territories. A negative trend has also been observed in the increasing disability assessment among certain non-working-age individuals with “hidden disability,” aimed at avoiding mobilization of family members under 60 years of age. Further research will focus on clarifying the socio-economic and medical consequences of population disability caused by Russian aggression and on developing measures to mitigate these consequences, support mobilization, restore labor potential, and improve the functioning of occupational pathology services during wartime and the post-war period.
Key words: primary disability, occupational morbidity, work-related accidents, permanent loss of work capacity.
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