Hospitalisations among seafarers on merchant ships.
OBJECTIVE
To study morbidity among active seafarers in the merchant navy in order to clarify possible work related morbidity and the morbidity related to work and lifestyle where possible preventive measures may be initiated.


METHODS
From a register in the Danish Maritime Authority a cohort of Danish merchant seafarers who had been actively employed at sea in 1995 was identified. For each seafarer, information on all employment periods at sea, charge aboard, and ship was available. The cohort was linked with the National In-patient Register in Denmark. Standardised hospitalisation ratios (SHRs) were calculated for all major diagnostic groups using all gainfully employed as reference.


RESULTS
Seafarers were shown to be inhomogeneous, with significant differences in SHRs for the same disease groups between different groups of seafarers depending on charge and ship type. SHRs for lifestyle related diseases were high, although rates for acute conditions, such as acute myocardial infarction, were low, probably due to referral bias, as acute conditions are likely to cause hospitalisation abroad, and thus are not included in the study. SHRs for injury and poisoning were high, especially for ratings and officers aboard small ships.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite pre-employment selection, a large proportion of the seafarers constitute a group of workers with evidence of poor health probably caused by lifestyle. The subgroups with high risk of hospitalisation due to lifestyle related diseases also had an increased risk of hospitalisation due to injury and poisoning.
Hansen
H L
HL
Medical Office of Health, Vejle County, Denmark. hlhansen@dadlnet.dk
Tüchsen
F
F
Hannerz
H
H
D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000328:Adult; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008498:Medical Record Linkage; D008875:Middle Aged; D009326:Naval Medicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012767:Ships
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