ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN DISEASE AND OCCUPATION - HYPOTHESES GENERATED FROM THE NATIONAL MORTALITY FOLLOWBACK SURVEY

This study uses the National Mortality Follow back Survey of 1986 to i dentify the top five Sentinel Health Events Occupational [SHE(O)s], th e five leading causes of death, and to ascertain the primary occupatio ns and industries associated with these. We found that, as expected, c ardiovascular diseases were four of the five leading causes of death o verall. In addition, the SHE(O) responsible for most deaths was cancer of the trachea, bronchus, and lung, followed by renal failure, bladde r cancer, myeloid leukemia, and liver cancer. We employed proportionat e mortality ratios to analyze the relationship between industry and oc cupation and category of mortality. In brief, we validated findings by other researchers; for example, farmers were at lower risk of cancer of the trachea, bronchus, and lung, and workers in eating/drinking pla ces had excess risk of liver cancer. We also hypothesize other relatio nships, such as between motor vehicle dealers and bladder cancer. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.