Benefícios por incapacidade concedidos a trabalhadores brasileiros com câncer entre 2007 a 2020

Abstract

Actions for cancer control in Brazil were introduced at the beginning of the 20th century, with a greater focus on diagnosis and treatment. The emphasis on prevention was limited by the lack of knowledge about the etiology of the disease. Work-related cancer originates from exposure to carcinogens present in the work environment, even after exposure has ceased. It is common for a long period of exposure to risky elements or conditions in the work environment to occur, which makes the diagnosis of certain types of cancer difficult. Occupational exposure studies have made great contributions to the understanding of human carcinogenesis. There are many additional workplace exposures that are suspected carcinogens that need further assessment to ensure a safe work environment. The main objective of this research is to identify the trend of disability benefits granted to Brazilian workers affected by cancer. It is an ecological study, of a descriptive nature, with a quantitative approach. In the data collection, all cancer records present in the social security database related to the granting of Aid-Illness benefits to Brazilian workers affected by cancer, whether related or not related to work, were included. The setting for this research was the Brazilian national territory. Data were collected through free and virtual access to the Ministry of Labor and Welfare's database containing the Monthly Monitoring Reports of Sickness Allowances Granted according to the INSS's International Classification of Diseases Codes — 10th Revision (ICD-10) . Subsequently, they were tabulated in Excel spreadsheets. After tabulation, the absolute data on the annual occurrence of cancer in the population were represented through tables and bar graphs with data labels. A total of 986,583 workers were listed who received a benefit for incapacity to perform their work activity due to the diagnosis of non-work-related cancer and 7,858 workers who had some type of work-related cancer and who required disability leave between 2007 and 2020. The highest rate of workers who were removed due to the diagnosis of cancer related to work occurred in 2016, in March, and the lowest number occurred in the year 2020. An increase over the years was observed in the absolute number of disability benefits granted to workers who had some type of cancer not related to work. The highest record of cases in the researched time interval was in 2020, in the month of October. The lowest number of cases was in December 2009. Cancer is still a disease whose incidence has increased over the years. The literature even points to an increase at the global level, which highlights the magnitude of the public health problem generated by these high rates.