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Background: Fishers are at risk of back disorders due to their physically demanding work. The aim was to investigate risk factors for back disorders in fishers in Denmark. Methods: All male Danish registered fishers between 1994 and 2017 were included. ICD-10 codes classified back disorders (M40-M54* and DM99.1-4*). A multistate model on a cause-specific cox regression modelwas conducted. Results: Of 13,165 fishers included, 16% had a hospital contactwith an incident back disorder, and 52% at least had 1 recurrent episode. Having worked in another occupation (HR 1.14; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.27) and another musculoskeletal disorder (HR 1.84; 95% CI: 1.69, 2.01) were significant risk factors for the incident back disorder. No risk factors were seen for recurrent episodes. Conclusions: Risk factors for incident and recurrent back disorders were different; thus, episode-specific initiatives are needed to reduce back disorders among fishers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior studies have yielded inconsistent evidence regarding the association between formaldehyde exposure and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We conducted a population case-control study in the Danish National Registries on the relationship between occupationally-derived formaldehyde exposure and ALS. Occupational history was obtained from a comprehensive and prospectively recorded pension database of all paid work in Denmark since 1964, and was linked to a job-exposure matrix to derive individual exposure estimates. Each case was matched to 4 age- and sex-matched population controls alive on the date of the case diagnosis via risk set sampling, and odds ratios and confidence intervals (CI) were calculated via conditional logistic regression, adjusting for potential confounders. There were 3650 incident cases of ALS in the Danish National Patient Register from 1982 to 2009. Among controls, 25% were ever employed in jobs with a positive prevalence of formaldehyde exposure. Exposure to formaldehyde was associated with a 1.3-fold increased rate of ALS (95% CI 1.2-1.4). This study suggests that formaldehyde exposure, or employment in formaldehyde-exposed occupations, is related to the risk of ALS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among occupational fishers is high, yet knowledge of the risk factors is scarce and inconsistent. The aim of this study was to investigate the risk from various work-related characteristics on incident hospital contact due to a musculoskeletal disorders and other pain disorders among Danish occupational fishers., Methods: This register-based study comprised data from the Danish Occupational Cohort with eXposure (DOC*X) for all persons registered as occupational fishers between 1994 and 2017. Time-to-event analysis with Cox regression model was used with age as the time scale., Results: Among the 15,739 fishers, 40% (n = 5,669 cases) had an incident hospital contact with an MSD during follow-up. Back disorders were the dominant complaint. Male fishers working less than 5 years or more than 15 years had higher risks of MSD (HR 2.40 (95% CI: 2.06, 2.80), HR: 2.04 (95% CI: 1.76, 2.35), respectively, than those working for over 20 years. Period effects confounded and reduced the risk from occupational seniority., Conclusion: Fishers occupational seniority vary in risk of MSDs across working life. Results showed a nonlinear relationship between the highest risk for fishers working less than 5 years and the lowest risk working more than 20 years as occupational fisher. More years in the workforce, a captain education, and primarily working part time significantly reduced the risk of experiencing a first MSDs for men. Healthy worker effect was documented., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Objective: The aim of the present work was to establish whether or not prescribed medication is a usable risk indicator for work-related ischaemic heart disease (IHD), in Denmark. Material and Methods: Weighted Spearman rank correlation coefficients (rho) were used to evaluate the agreement between Standardised Hazard Ratios (SHR) for hospital treatment or death due to IHD and SHR for purchase of prescriptions for medicine that may prevent IHD from (re)occurring, among socio-occupational and economic activities groups in Denmark. The SHR were based on a 10-year prospective follow-up of 2 million people in Danish national registers 1996-2005. Results: We found approximately 7 times more cases of medicine usage (N = 411 651) than we did for hospital treatment or death (N = 55 684). The correlations between the 2 types of SHR were strong (rho = 0.94 for the socio-occupational groups; rho = 0.74 for the economic activities groups). We observed, however, one markedly contradictive result; the industrial group entitled 'general practitioner, dentists etc.' was associated both with significantly high rates of medicine usage (SHR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.12-1.19) and significantly low rates of hospital treatment or death due to IHD (SHR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.71-0.91). Conclusion: Apart from a few caveats, the strong correlations obtained in the present study signify that purchase of a prescription for IHD-related medication is a usable risk indicator for IHD in the working population of Denmark. The usage of medicine data in addition to or instead of the use of death or hospital data in epidemiological studies on work-related IHD risk will bring about a tremendous increase in statistical power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Firefighters are exposed to numerous respiratory hazards, but large studies on the risk of pulmonary disease are scarce. The objective of this study was to examine incidence of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in a nationwide cohort of Danish firefighters., Methods: We used individual historical employment records on 11 968 Danish male firefighters primarily supplied by trade unions and fire agencies. Furthermore, we used the Supplementary Pension Fund Register to form an occupational reference group consisting of military employees. Information on respiratory incidence was retrieved from the nationwide Danish National Patient Registry. Age and calendar time standardised incidence ratio (SIR) and Poisson regression analyses (incidence rate ratio) were used for estimation of risks, including 95% CIs., Results: Compared with military employees, the overall age and calendar-time adjusted risk for asthma was significantly increased among full-time firefighters (SIR=1.58, 95% CI 1.32 to 1.88), but not among part-time/volunteer firefighters. Full-time firefighters' risk for asthma did not vary by duration of employment. No consistent evidence of an increased risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was detected., Conclusion: Danish firefighters have an increased risk of asthma, but the causes, whether occupational or not, remain to be established., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2018. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Objectives: Firefighters are exposed to multiple cardiovascular hazards, but few epidemiological studies have addressed their cardiovascular morbidity. The objective of this study was therefore to examine the incidence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in Danish firefighters., Methods: We used individual historical employment records on 11.691 male Danish firefighters supplied by trade unions and fire agencies. The Supplementary Pension Fund Register was used to establish two occupational reference groups (a random sample from the male employed population and military employees). Information on CVD incidence was retrieved from the nationwide Danish National Patient Registry. SIRs and Poisson regression analyses (incidence rate ratio) were used for estimation of risks, including 95% CIs., Results: In comparison with the population sample, the age-adjusted and calendar time-adjusted SIR for all CVDs combined was increased in firefighters (SIR=1.10, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.15). The risk was also elevated for the most frequent outcomes, including angina pectoris (SIR=1.16, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.24), acute myocardial infarction (SIR=1.16, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.26), chronic ischaemic heart disease (SIR=1.15, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.24) and atrial fibrillation/flutter (SIR=1.25, 95% CI 1.14 to 1.36). This analysis showed the most elevated SIRs for CVD in full-time firefighters compared with part-time/volunteer firefighters. Both types of firefighters employed <15 years had an increased risk of CVD. Similar risk patterns appeared in comparisons with the military. Internal analysis supported external findings., Conclusion: The risk of overall CVD, including the most frequent subtypes was modestly increased in Danish firefighters and was most elevated in full-time firefighters compared with other male employees., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.)

Objectives: To investigate a hypothesized positive association between employment in occupations where heavy lifting is likely to occur, and the risk of ischaemic heart disease (IHD)., Material and Methods: Male blue-collar workers from Denmark (N = 516,180) were monitored with respect to hospital treatment or death due to IHD, through national registers over the years 2001-2010. Poisson regression was used to estimate relative rates of IHD between "workers in occupations which, according to an expert opinion, are likely to involve heavy lifting" and "other blue-collar workers." Prevalent cases were excluded from the analysis., Results: The rate ratio was estimated at 0.97 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.94-1.00) for deaths or hospitalizations due to IHD and 1.07 (95% CI: 0.94-1.21) for deaths due to IHD., Conclusions: The results do not support the hypothesis that occupational heavy lifting is an important risk factor for IHD., (This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.)