Hospital contacts for chronic diseases among Danish seafarers and fishermen: A population-based cohort study

Abstract

Danish seafarers, especially short-term employees, had an elevated risk of hospitalization for lifestyle-related diseases.

The metabolic syndrome among Danish seafarers

“…Hospitalisations due to chronic conditions that can be related to lifestyle are more frequent among seafarers than in the general population [11,12]. An increased cardiovascular mortality of Danish seafarers was demonstrated in 1996 [13] and again in a recent study, in which disease-related deaths -in particular from cardiovascular conditions -continue to represent the dominant mode of death in the maritime setting [14].…”

The workload of fishermen: a cross sectional survey among Danish commercial fishermen

“…The fishing industry has formerly been perceived as a particularly dangerous and physically demanding work and studies throughout the 1990's, and most recently in 2008, have observed a continued excessive risk of certain health effects [1], especially musculoskeletal disorders and accidents [2,3]. Although recent studies indicate that there has been a positive development of the physical work environment on board fishing vessels [4][5][6], the work is still characterized by frequent manual handling of catch (lift, push and pull) and heavy equipment in wet, slippery and mobile environments [6,7].…”

Non-cancer diseases requiring admission to hospital among German seafarers

“…Compared to the German reference population, seamen showed a significantly decreased risk for these diseases (with the exception of the galley personnel). Particularly the low risk for diseases of the circulatory system among seafarers was surprising; typical shipboard malnutrition combined with an increased proportion of smokers, the lack of exercise and high job-related stress on board are crucial contributory risk factors for cardiovascular diseases in seafaring [15,16]. Shift work and especially irregular working hours (which are typical in seafaring) may also lead to an increased hospitalisation risk for cardiovascular diseases in seafarers [17].…”