Connor Downs is now the youngest Queensland stonemason to be diagnosed with silicosis.

A 22-year-old Gold Coast man says he's struggling to cope with social isolation, after becoming the youngest Queenslander to be diagnosed with the potentially deadly disease, silicosis.

The incurable condition is caused by exposure to silica dust from engineered stone benchtops and Connor Downes had been working with the material for just three years when he submitted himself for testing after a workmate was diagnosed. Read more: abc.net.au