Occupation and Hospitalization with Ischaemic Heart Diseases: a New Nationwide Surveillance System Based on Hospital Admissions

A cohort of all people in Denmark aged 20-59 years on 1 January 1981 was followed up for four years for emigration, death and hospital admission for ischaemic heart disease (IHD) as the primary diagnosis. The data set allows tabulation of rates of hospitalization by occupation, position and industry. Well-known classic associations for IHD have been reproduced. Examples are: male bus drivers had a standardized hospitalization ratio (SHR) of 136; for male urban bus drivers SHR = 143, male taxi drivers SHR = 168, fishermen SHR = 129, men occupied in hotels and restaurants SHR = 140, women in hotels and restaurants SHR = 157. The consistency with previous findings is an argument that new significant associations should be treated as substantiated hypotheses if no selection bias is known. Examples of groups at significant excess risk of IHD are those self-employed in the textile industry, self-employed hairdressers, foremen in the construction industry, bakers, medical and industrial laboratory technicians, telephone assistants and unskilled tube and sheet workers in shipyards.