Abstract: Objective To investigate the changes of inflammatory factors in patients with pneumoconiosis and its relationship with carotid atherosclerosis. Methods Totally 119 patients with pneumoconiosis were selected in Linxi Hospital of Kailuan General Hospital from September 2015 to September 2021 as observation group，including 73 patients with stageⅠ，29 patients with stage Ⅱ，17 patients with stage Ⅲ. Totally 51 healthy people were selected in same period as control group. All people were detected the items of interleukin-6（IL-6），C-reactive protein（CRP），Homocysteine（Hcy） and cystisin C（Cys C），and neck ultrasonography（intima-media thickness，IMT）. The changes of inflammatory factors in patients with pneumoconiosis were analyzed，and the relationship between inflammatory factors and carotid atherosclerosis were analyzed. Results The levels of inflammatory factors and IMT in patients with pneumoconiosis（stageⅠ，Ⅱ and Ⅲ） were [（16.29±3.17）ng/L，（7.91±1.26）mg/L，（13.84±3.97）μmol/L，（1.79±0.43）mg/L，（1.05±0.24）mm]，[（27.62±5.42）ng/L，（15.68±3.09）mg/L，（25.93±6.01）μmol/L，（3.52±0.84）mg/L，（1.28±0.19）mm]，[（48.07±8.35）ng/L，（38.64±6.37）mg/L，（46.78±7.25）μmol/L，（5.80±1.02）mg/L，（1.67±0.32）mm]，respectively，which were higher than those in control group[（5.98±1.04）ng/L，（2.23±0.85）mg/L，（5.61±1.12）μmol/L，（0.81±0.16）mg/L，（0.86±0.13）mm]（all P<0.01）. The levels of inflammatory factors（IL-6，CRP，Hcy，Cys C） and IMT in patients with pneumoconiosis stage Ⅱ and Ⅲ were higher than those in patients with pneumoconiosis stageⅠ（all P<0.05）. The levels of inflammatory factors（IL-6，CRP，Hcy，Cys C） and IMT in patients with pneumoconiosis stage Ⅲ were higher than those in patients with pneumoconiosis stageⅡ（all P<0.05）. The levels of inflammatory factors（IL-6，CRP，Hcy，Cys C） in pneumoconiosis patients with IMT thickening and plaque were higher than those in pneumoconiosis patients with normal IMT（all P<0.05）. The levels of inflammatory factors（IL-6，CRP，Hcy，Cys C） in pneumoconiosis patients with IMT plaque were higher than those in pneumoconiosis patients with IMT thickening（all P<0.05）. When there were IMT thickening and plaque，the levels of inflammatory factors（IL-6，CRP，Hcy，Cys C） were positively correlated with IMT（all P<0.05）. Conclusion The patients with pneumoconiosis have high levels of inflammatory factors，who may be prone to carotid atherosclerosis.

Key words: Pneumoconiosis, Inflammatory factors, Carotid atherosclerosis