Company closure and mortality in a Greek bus company.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies strongly support an association between unemployment and an increased risk of morbidity and mortality. AIMS: To assess the impact of company closure on the mortality of redundant employees. METHODS: The mortality of a cohort of male ex-employees of the Athens Bus Transportation Company Epixirisi Astikon Siginonion (EAS) was followed from September 1992 to October 1993. Information on causes of death was obtained from death certificates and classified according to the ninth revision of the International Classification of Diseases. The expected number of deaths was calculated based on 5 year age groups. Cause-specific mortality rates for the Greek population were obtained from the Greek National Statistics Service, and standardized mortality rates (SMRs) were calculated using population census data for 1991. RESULTS: The cohort consisted of 4400 subjects. Thirty deaths were recorded. Crude mortality was significantly elevated (SMR = 1.75; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.18-2.5; Table 1). A statistically significant excess in mortality from ischaemic heart disease was shown (18 deaths observed; SMR = 4.83; 95% CI 2.86-7.64). One year before the privatization and closure of EAS (1991), nine deaths were recorded among its 7400 employees (SMR = 0.34). CONCLUSIONS: Our study found a significant increase in all-cause mortality and death from ischaemic heart disease in male workers who were made redundant and suggested a significant negative impact of unemployment resulting from company closure on mortality. These results may signal future mortality patterns in Greece if the current climate of austerity and recession continues.

Lung cancer and occupational risk factors in Greece.

This study estimated the proportion of lung cancer in Greece that was attributable to occupational exposure. Two hundred eighty-two patients with lung cancer and 494 controls were interviewed about their socioeconomic characteristics, sex, age, and occupational, smoking, and residential histories. Each subject was classified as exposed or unexposed to known occupational lung carcinogens. Because of the small number of females exposed, only males were included in the multivariate analyses. When the occupationally exposed subjects were compared with the unexposed subjects and an adjustment for smoking was made, the relative risk for lung cancer was 2.9 (95% confidence interval, 1.95-4.31). If 5% to 10% of the Greek population were occupationally exposed, the attributable risk would be 9.9% to 16.6%, respectively. Occupational exposures conferred an additional risk that was approximately threefold that of smoking alone. Risks increased in a dose-response fashion with increasing cigarette consumption.