[The circulating occupational medical record in the county of Roskilde]. / Den arbejdsmedicinske vandrejournal i Roskilde Amt.

The aim of the circulating occupational medical record (COMR) is to coordinate activities and documents concerning the patient who has an occupational disease. This new case record belongs to the patient, which solves the problems concerning the professional secrecy of the involved authorities. The general practitioner, the trade union and amongst others the safety organisation of the work place all have their own schematic pages in the record. The number and use of COMRs were studied. Postal questionnaires were sent to the primary users of the COMRs. Altogether 345 COMRs were started over the two year period 1989-1991. Two hundred and ninety-eight COMRs were evaluable. The page of the general practitioner was used in 90% of the records, versus 64% in the case of the unionpage and 21% in the case of the safety organisation. In 78% there were documents from medical specialists, psychologists or physiotherapists. The majority of the documents were from the department of occupational medicine. In half of the COMRs there were documents from more than four different sources. Only 76% of the patients were referred to the department of occupational medicine. It is recommended that the COMR should be extended to the whole country.

[The risk of silicosis from building site dust]. / Silikoserisiko ved byggepladsstøv.

The quartz content of ordinary building materials such as concrete, mortar and bricks is 10-50%. The extension of concrete building which has occurred since 1960 and the subsequent repairs and preparation by means of mechanical tools result in increased concentrations of dust containing quartz. Measurements at various types of work in Danish building sites reveal that the quantity of respirable quartz constitutes 0.16-1.8 mg/m3 (limit 0.1 mg/m3). Corresponding figures are found in investigations from abroad. Cases of silicosis have been reported among builders abroad and, in Denmark, only few cases of occupational dust lung conditions have been notified to the Workers' Supervision Authorities. Whether or not quartz in dust at building sites also causes an increase in the occurrence of cancer of the lung, as is the case in sandstone workers exposed to pure quartz, has not yet been proved. The latent period of several decades for the development of silicosis is such that it may well be feared that the cases now reported are only the beginning of increased occurrence of the disease in coming years among particularly exposed concrete workers, bricklayers, unskilled workers, electricians, joiners and carpenters. Relevant technical methods have already been developed to limit exposure to quartz-containing dust at building sites. Prophylactic measures should be accelerated.

[Early retirement among the 1914 population in Glostrup. Significance of social and health problems in choosing early retirement]. / Efterløn blandt 1914-populationen i Glostrup. Sociale og helbredsmaessige faktorers betydning for valg af efterløn.

In the population investigation in Glostrup, the 1914 population was examined at the ages of 50, 60 and 67 years. A total of 141 participants at the 67 years examination (106 men and 35 women) stated that they had chosen early retirement prior to transition to old age pensions. The social and health circumstances of these early retirees at the ages of 50 and 60 years are compared with the circumstances in the 243 persons in the cohort (154 men and 89 women) who remained occupationally active until the age for old age pensioning. In the group of early retirees, unskilled men predominated. Out of those who found the occupational environment stressful at the ages of 50 or 60 years, a majority subsequently chose early retirement. Significantly more of the men with abnormal findings in the heart and lungs at the health examinations subsequently chose early retirement. Where the remaining health variables were concerned, no connection could be found with subsequent choice of early retirement. Where the health conditions at the age of 60 years were concerned, a tendency for more frequent choice of early retirement was observed in men with a series of abnormal conditions in the lungs and intestinal tract but no distinct tendency was observed in women. Where both sexes were concerned, an increasing tendency to subsequent choice of early retirement was observed with increasing incidense of cardiovascular risk factors at the age of 60 years. Data concerning low back pain at the age of 60 years did not reveal any connection with subsequent choice of early retirement but may suggest early elimination of persons with low back pain.

Effect of fork-lift truck driving on low-back trouble.

In a population of 240 male fork-lift truck drivers who drove at least 4 h daily, the occurrence of low-back trouble was studied in relation to that of two reference groups. The participation rate of the fork-lift truck drivers was 88%. The responses to a questionnaire concerning low-back trouble were reviewed. Among the fork-lift truck drivers, a statistically significant higher occurrence of low-back trouble was reported for the year preceding the study, in comparison, according to age, to that of a reference group of 399 working men (65 against 47%); however, there was no significantly increased frequency when compared to that of a reference group of 66 unskilled male workers (65 against 51%). The fork-lift truck drivers had a significantly higher rate of absence from work within the previous year due to low-back trouble than the two reference groups (22% compared to 7 and 9%). These findings were confirmed during the follow-up year. A correlation was found between length of employment as a fork-lift truck driver and the occurrence of low-back trouble within the preceding year. It was concluded that fork-lift truck driving may be a contributory cause for low-back trouble.

Blood pressure reduction by change in life style. The CVD intervention study in Glostrup.

In a controlled, primary intervention, cardiovascular survey on 928 men and women aged exactly 30, 40, 50 & 60 years, a significant reduction (about 5 mmHg) was found in systolic blood pressure mean difference before and after intervention between the intervention- and control group. The observation time was 7 months. Most of the twentynine drop outs were excluded for personal reasons or because of antihypertensive treatment. A reasonable explanation for the blood pressure reduction is a change in life style, in the intervention group. The subjects in the intervention group increased physical activity and decreased fat and salt intake in contrast to the control group (p less than 0.001, 0.005).

Cholesterol, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL) and cholesterol/HDL-ratio versus arterial blood pressure.

In a cardiovascular survey of 928 men and women aged exactly 30, 40, 50 & 60 years, a correlation between serum cholesterol, cholesterol/HDL-ratio and arterial blood pressure was found. This correlation was indirectly caused by mutual correlations to relative weight and age as a final result found after multiple rank correlation analysis in each sex. HDL was not correlated to arterial blood pressure at all.