Hospital contacts for chronic diseases among Danish seafarers and fishermen: A population-based cohort study

Objectives: Seafarers' and fishermen's working conditions may impact on their lifestyle and health. Standardized hospital contact ratios (SHCRs) were compared in two time periods and the relative risks of hospital contact as a function of employment time were estimated. Methods: Cohorts of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scandinavian journal of public health 2007-01, Vol.35 (5), p.481-489
Main Authors: KAERLEV, LINDA, DAHL, SØREN, NIELSEN, PER SABRO, OLSEN, JØRN, HANNERZ, HARALD, JENSEN, ANKER, TÜCHSEN, FINN
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Chronic Disease - epidemiology
Chronic Disease - mortality
Chronic sickness
Cohort Studies
Denmark - epidemiology
Employment
Environmental Exposure - adverse effects
Epidemiology
Female
Follow-Up Studies
General aspects
Health risks
Hospitalization - statistics & numerical data
Humans
Life Style
Lifestyle
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Miscellaneous
Naval Medicine
Occupational health hazards
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Registries
Risk Factors
Seamen
Ships
Working conditions
Workplace
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Summary:Objectives: Seafarers' and fishermen's working conditions may impact on their lifestyle and health. Standardized hospital contact ratios (SHCRs) were compared in two time periods and the relative risks of hospital contact as a function of employment time were estimated. Methods: Cohorts of all Danish seafarers (officers and non-officers) registered by the Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) 1989-98 and fishermen retrieved from a pension registry 1989-98 were linked to the nationwide Occupational Hospitalization Registry (OHR) and followed up for incident diseases in two five-year time periods, from 1 January 1994 and 1 January 1999, respectively, using rates specific for age and calendar time for the entire Danish workforce as a reference. Results: The SHCRs for lung and cardiovascular diseases were high for non-officers. Among male officers, the SHCR for diabetes was high in the 1999 cohort and the SHCR for chronic heart diseases was statistically significantly higher in the 1999 than in the 1994 cohort. For both time periods high SHCR values were found for bronchitis, emphysema, cancer of the lung, alcohol-related liver diseases, and diabetes among male non-officers, and lung cancer among male officers. Among female non-officers, a high SHCR for skin melanomas was seen. Among fishermen high SHCRs for bronchitis, emphysema, lung cancer, and Raynaud's syndrome were found in both cohorts. No duration-response pattern was observed in any of the analyses, which may reflect health- and lifestyle-related selection into the trades or a healthy worker effect. Conclusions: Danish seafarers, especially short-term employees, had an elevated risk of hospitalization for lifestyle-related diseases.
ISSN:1403-4948
1651-1905
DOI:10.1080/14034940701267385