HSE PUBLISHES LATEST STATISTICS ON OCCUPATIONAL ILL HEALTH

HSE press release: E174:03 - 11 September 2003

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has today published a new summary of the latest statistics on work-related ill health in Great Britain.

Occupational Health Statistics Bulletin 2002/03 provides an overall picture regarding work-related illness and the demographic characteristics of those affected, with comparative figures for different occupations, industrial sectors and areas, as well as the latest position for specific types of occupational ill health.

Overall self-reported work-related ill health prevalence in Great Britain stood at 2.3 million people in 2001/02, accounting for 33 million working days lost, according to a household survey first published last year.

Breakdowns of these figures reveal that:

• Males accounted for more of the prevalence and the working days lost than females, and had a higher prevalence rate (as a percentage of people who had ever worked).
  
• Among people of working age, the prevalence rate and days lost per worker generally increased with age, especially among males.
  
• In terms of Socio-economic Classification, lower managerial and professional workers had the highest prevalence numbers and rates.

Occupations with the highest overall self-reported prevalence rates in 2001/02, where sample numbers were large enough to give reliable estimates, included protective services (e.g. police), health & social welfare associate professionals (e.g. nurses), skilled construction & building trades, and teaching & research professionals.

Reports by specialist doctors in 2000-02 show relatively high incidence rates for occupations exposed to particular agents or risks including bakers for occupational asthma and metal plate workers for upper limb disorders, while analysis of death certificates reveals high mesothelioma mortality for occupations with substantial past exposure to asbestos.

The industry sectors public administration & defence, education and health & social work showed high overall self-reported prevalence rates in both 2001/02 and 1998/99 (the previous survey). In addition the agriculture, construction, extraction & utility supply and manufacturing sectors had high rates for particular types of work-related illness.

Analysis by geographical area, in terms of overall self-reported illness prevalence, shows Wales with one of the highest rates and Scotland with the lowest. Geographical analysis of deaths from mesothelioma highlights the greatest excesses in areas containing industrial sites where asbestos has been used in the past, for example ports and dockyards (including some in Scotland).

The latest figures show a mixed picture for specific types of work-related illness. For example:

• Surveillance data for musculoskeletal disorders and stress show little change in the most recent year, 2002.
  
• The numbers of deaths from mesothelioma and of new disablement benefit cases of asbestosis continue to rise, reflecting past exposures to asbestos.
  
• The estimated incidence of occupational asthma and of contact dermatitis have not changed much recently, although the data for asthma indicate a possible decrease in the last three years.
  
• The number of occupational infections reported by specialist doctors in 2002 was high due to several large outbreaks of diarrhoeal disease.
  
• The number of new disablement benefit cases of occupational deafness has remained fairly constant in the last four years, following a long-term decline.

More detailed data and commentaries are at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics

Notes to editors

1. The statistics are derived from a number of different sources. They draw on newly available surveillance data from specialist doctors in The Health and Occupation Reporting network (THOR, formerly known as ODIN), claims for disablement benefit under the Department for Work and Pensions' Industrial Injuries Scheme (IIS), and numbers of deaths from mesothelioma and other occupational diseases. They also include previously published results of the Self-reported Work-related Illness (SWI) Survey 2001/02 and analyses of mesothelioma mortality by occupation and area.

2. A summary of statistics on all aspects of workplace health and safety, including reports on progress against the targets set in the 'Revitalising Health and Safety' strategy, will be given in 'Health and Safety Statistics Highlights 2002/03', scheduled for publication in November 2003. HSE is publishing the ill health statistics now, in advance of the 'Highlights' document, in line with the National Statistics principle that figures should be released as soon as possible after they have been compiled.

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