Objective To study the quality of life and its influencing factors for occupational silicosis patients in a Pearl River Delta city.

Methods All surviving occupational silicosis patients who lived in a municipal area of the Pearl River Delta in 2022 and could be detected were selected as the research objects. Their basic information, the symptoms, and the quality of life were surveyed using the Information Form of Occupational Pneumoconiosis Patients Follow-up Cases, the Symptom Questionnaire for Silicosis Patients, and the 36-item Health Survey Scale. The multiple linear regression method was used to analyze the factors influencing the score of the SF-36 questionnaire.

Results Among 80 occupational silicosis patients, 32 patients were diagnosed with stage Ⅰ (40.0%), 32 patients with stage Ⅱ (40.0%), and 16 patients with stage Ⅲ (20.0%). The total score of SF-36 in the patients with stages Ⅰ, Ⅱ, and Ⅲ were (52.21 ± 4.56) points, (50.33 ± 4.59) points, and (49.51 ± 4.98) points, respectively, with no statistical significance (P > 0.05). The scores in dimensions of physiological function, physiological role, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social function, and mental health were all lower than the national norm, and the difference was significant (P < 0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that, compared with those who could take care of themselves, the total SF-36 score of those who could not take care of themselves decreased by 5.623 points (P < 0.05). Compared with those without dyspnea, the total SF-36 score of those with dyspnea was reduced by 2.647 points (P < 0.05).

Conclusions The quality of life of silicosis patients in a Pearl River Delta city was lower than the average level of the general population in China, and the main influencing factors were the inability to take care of oneself and dyspnea.