Health and pink-collar work.
BACKGROUND
In recent years, there has been a decline in the manufacturing sector of the UK economy with a corresponding growth of service-orientated pink-collar jobs in some regions. While the health outcomes of white- and blue-collar workers are well-established, less is known about this emerging pink-collar group.


OBJECTIVE
To outline the health of pink-collar workers in comparison to their white-collar counterparts across a range of indicators.


METHODS
Area-level percentages for white-, pink- and blue-collar workers were derived from residents' routinely collected employment data in a northern English town. Area-level health data pertaining to male and female life expectancy, respiratory deaths and deaths from cardiovascular and circulatory causes (all age and under 75 years) were obtained from the local authority and public health observatory. Multivariate regression analyses were performed to assess relationships between job collar and health.


RESULTS
When adjusted for deprivation, areas with higher percentages of pink-collar workers experienced lower rates of death from circulatory disease under the age of 75 in comparison to white-collar workers. Other relationships between collar status and health outcomes were not statistically significant.


CONCLUSIONS
The reasons underlying the apparent protective effect of pink-collar status for deaths from circulatory disease are uncertain and merit further study. Possibilities include differences in age, exposure to occupational hazards and lifestyle behaviours. Our work has a number of limitations and longitudinal studies with detailed exposure data should assess the long-term health outcomes of these workers using agreed definitions.
Sheffield Occupational Health Service, Northern General Hospital, Sheffield S5 7AU, UK, Subhashis.basu@sth.nhs.uk.
S
S
Basu
School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 4DA, UK.
G
G
Ratcliffe
School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 4DA, UK.
M
M
Green
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000401:mortality*; D004651:Employment; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D016272:Occupational Health; D009790:Occupations / Q000145:classification; D015995:Prevalence; D012923:Social Class; D014937:Work / Q000145:classification
Health status; occupation; pink-collar work; public health.