One in Five Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Deaths May Be Due to Occupational Exposures

FRIDAY, March 7, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Roughly one in five (21 percent) of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) deaths might be related to occupational exposures, according to research published in the March 6 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Jacek M. Mazurek, M.D., from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in Washington, D.C., and colleagues conducted an exploratory analysis of 2020 to 2022 multiple cause-of-death data to examine IPF mortality among U.S. workers by industry and occupation.

The researchers identified 67,843 decedents with IPF (59 percent male), suggesting that during this three-year period, 8,340 IPF deaths in men and 5,908 deaths in women might have been associated with occupational exposures. The highest proportionate mortality ratios by industry group were among those employed in utilities for men (1.15) and those employed in public administration for women (1.12). The highest IPF mortality rates by occupation group among men were for community and social services workers (1.23); for women, the occupation group with the highest IPF mortality rates was farming, fishing, and forestry workers (1.24).

“Estimates of elevated IPF mortality among workers in specific industries and occupations warrant confirmation, control of known exposure-related risk factors, and continued surveillance to better understand the full range of occupational exposures that might increase risk for developing IPF,” the authors write.

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