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Background: Working on board presents unique healthcare challenges for maritime personnel. Italian Law mandates a medical fitness assessment for seafarers registry enrolment. The Port Health Officer assesses seaworthiness and, against this judgment, the applicants can appeal to the First-degree Medical Commission. Studies on maritime personnel's medical fitness are limited and primarily focus on the health conditions of individuals already employed in the maritime sector. Methods: A retrospective study reviewed 459 medical reports of 361 seafarers from Naples' Port Authority First-degree Medical Commission (2013–2022). Characteristics such as sex, age, diseases, and suitability judgments were analyzed. Results: Out of the 361 candidates, most were male with an average age of 28.67 years. A total of 160 (44.32%) were deemed suitable for matriculation in both the first and second categories, 79 (21.88%) were approved for one category, 53 (14.68%) were found not suitable, and 69 (19.11%) are still under assessment. Eye diseases were most common (50.83%), followed by cardiovascular and orthopedic conditions. Applicants with poorly controlled diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, psychiatric disorders, and advanced tumors were declared unsuitable. Conclusion: Our study provides opportunities to improve applicants' awareness of the physical requirements for pursuing a career in navigation and to update the list of illnesses and physical impairments used for this medico-legal evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Asbestos is considered one of the major global work-related carcinogens. Some studies suggest a potential causal relationship between asbestos exposure and colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the role of asbestos in CRC carcinogenesis is still controversial. Methods: 35 claims of occupational CRC among asbestos-exposed workers were reviewed. All claims were rejected by the Italian National Institute for Insurance against Accidents (INAIL) due to the "lack of scientific evidence in the causality" between asbestos exposure and CRC; causality was finally assessed in civil trials. All cases were categorized by age, gender, industry type, task, exposure and latency periods, anatomical location, and histopathological characteristics of CRC and concomitant respiratory diseases. Results: Most workers were males aged 60 years or more and employed in occupational activities with extensive use of asbestos for over 20 years. In 31 out of 35 cases, CRC was diagnosed over 39 years after employment. Right-sided colic adenocarcinoma was diagnosed in nine cases; rectum was involved in eight cases. Respiratory comorbidities were observed in 22 workers. Conclusions: Our study provides some interesting points in the assessment of the causal relationship between asbestos exposure and CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study related to the occurrence of injuries in the maritime and fisheries workers due to accidents. Topics discussed include category of vessels affected by the accident include passenger transport, cargo ships, and fishing boats, average age of the injured was estimated as 41.6 years, and trauma was responsible for injury on board.

This work is based on a Search conducted by IPSEMA and in course of publication. It was considered the accident trend of seafarers in the period 2004-2011, based on INAIL data. The category of vessels most affected by the accident phenomenon is passenger transport (about half of the cases), followed by cargo ships (20.2%) and fishing boats (16.0%). The average age of the injured is equal to 41.6 years. Further evidence relating to the qualification of seafarers injured (mostly "sailor", "hub" and "small") and nationality (94% of Italians), while the main mechanism of injury on board is the trauma that affects mostly the arts. In most cases, finally, it came to accidents that occurred during the navigation.