The impact of occupation on worker's health: II - Mortality

Abstract

An attempt to estimate the impact of occupation on worker's health was made as part of the rationale for the progressive integration of Occupational Health into the Health Sector. In this second study, based on a critical review of the literature, the repercussions on mortality are discussed on this basis analysis of the Brazilian data on deaths directly related to occupation (fatal occupational accidents and acute poisonings), as well as on those indirectly so related. The analysis of the major causes of adult deaths - cardiovascular diseases, cancer and violent deaths - compared with the proportion of "work-relatedness" according to several epidemiologic studies carried out in developed countries, make possible an estimation of the influence of the contribution of occupation on mortality. The size of this contribution is the main argument for an active involvement of the health sector in Occupational Health issues, because of the heavy toll in terms of adult morbidity and mortality exacted on industrialized societies.