Occupational Health Statistics Bulletin 2004/05

Introduction

This Occupational Health Statistics Bulletin sets out the latest picture on work-related ill health in Great Britain. It uses updated statistics from several sources: reports from specialist doctors in The Health and Occupation Reporting network (THOR); claims for disablement benefit under the Industrial Injuries Scheme (IIS); and death certificates for mesothelioma and other fatal occupational diseases. The bulletin consists of two sections, an updated general overview of occupational ill health statistics, and a section summarising the main new features of the latest data. More detail is available on the main ill health statistics pages where all relevant tables and commentaries have also been updated.

The Bulletin does not cover progress against the health targets set in Revitalising Health and Safety (RHS). HSE statisticians’ latest assessment of progress is on the website at www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/targets.htm. A new judgment will be possible when other information becomes available, in particular from the Self-reported Work-related Illness (SWI) survey carried out in winter 2004/05. Updated progress reports on the RHS targets for ill health, injuries and days lost will be published in November 2005, in Health and Safety Statistics 2004/05.

Updated overview of occupational ill health

Each year over 2 million people suffer from ill health which they think is work-related …

Overall, in 2003/04 an estimated 2.2 million people were suffering from an illness which they believed was caused or made worse by their current or past work; around 600 thousand of these first became aware of the illness in the past 12 months.

… with over 20 thousand new cases each year severe enough to be seen by specialist doctors ...

In 2004 an estimated 23 000 new cases were seen by specialist doctors in The Health and Occupation Reporting network, while just over 7000 per were assessed as qualifying for compensation under the Department for Work and Pensions’ Industrial Injuries Scheme.

… and several thousand people dying each year from past exposures at work.

Each year an estimated 6000 people (uncertainty range 3000 to 12 000) die from cancer due to past exposures at work. In 2003 over 1800 people died from mesothelioma, a cancer caused mainly by occupational exposure to asbestos, and around as many again from asbestos-related lung cancer. Over 100 died from asbestosis and nearly 250 from other types of pneumoconiosis, mostly associated with coal dust and silica.

Over half of all cases of work-related illness are musculoskeletal disorders or stress …

The most common types of work-related illness were musculoskeletal disorders - in particular those affecting the back and upper limbs - and stress and other types of mental illness. Both self-reporting surveys and surveillance by specialist doctors show each of these accounting for around a third of the total incidence.

… but the total also includes diseases ranging from asthma and dermatitis to infections and deafness.

Other types of ill health with significant numbers of cases reported by doctors or compensated by the Government were lung diseases such as asthma and pneumoconioses; dermatitis and other skin diseases; diarrhoeal and other infections; and disorders related to vibration or noise.

Jobs with high risks for musculoskeletal disorders included typists and road workers …

The jobs carrying the highest risks of musculoskeletal disorders, according to reports from rheumatologists in 2002-04, were typists, metal plate workers, shipwrights and riveters, and road construction operatives, all with an annual average incidence rate approximately 15 times the average for all occupations.

… while protective service, healthcare and education occupations are most at risk for mental ill health, and protective services also for violence at work.

Consultant psychiatrists reported NCOs and other ranks in UK armed forces and medical practitioners as the occupations with the highest incidence rate of work-related mental ill health in 2002-04, both with rates over 15 times the overall average.

Among the riskiest jobs for occupational asthma are vehicle spray painters and bakers and flour confectioners; for contact dermatitis hairdressers, barbers and beauticians; and for infectious diseases care assistants/home carers.

Vehicle spray painters and bakers and flour confectioners had the highest estimated incidence rates for occupational asthma in 2002-04, at nearly 90 times the average for all occupations; hairdressers, barbers and beauticians had the highest rate for contact dermatitis (16 times the average); and care assistants/home carers for occupational infections (25 times the average). These comparisons are based on reports from respiratory physicians, dermatologists and communicable disease specialists respectively.

What’s new?

Specialist medical surveillance (THOR)

A new feature of the THOR data this year shows the contributing factors recorded by the reporting specialist to be involved in cases of musculoskeletal conditions and of work related mental ill health.

Over the period 2002-2004 the most commonly reported task associated with a work-related musculoskeletal condition was guiding or holding tools, reported in 21% of all cases, closely followed by heavy lifting/carrying/pushing/pulling (19%). Keyboard work was associated with one case in seven (14%). The most commonly reported type of movement amongst those reporting musculoskeletal disorders was forceful upper limb/grip, reported in 27% of cases, followed by lifting (15%), materials handling (14%) and fine hand movements (14%).

The most commonly reported precipitating factor for cases of work-related mental ill-health was simple work pressure, mentioned in connection with one quarter of cases. Inter-personal difficulties of some kind were a factor in nearly as many cases (22%). Traumatic events were a factor in 10% of cases, and bullying or sexual harassment in 8%.

Compensated occupational disease (Industrial Injuries scheme)

There was a net fall of 830 (from 7910 to 7080) in compensated cases of occupational disease. This was mainly due to falls in cases of chronic bronchitis, vibration white finger and carpal tunnel syndrome. Cases of asbestos-related disease (mainly mesothelioma and asbestosis) continue to rise.

Deaths from mesothelioma

There were 1874 deaths from mesothelioma in 2003 - similar to the number in the previous two years (there were 1862 and 1866 deaths in 2001 and 2002 respectively). Many of these deaths will be a result of past occupational exposures to asbestos. The annual number has increased fairly consistently from 153 deaths in 1968 - the first complete year for which mesothelioma statistics are available.