Work-related ill health and occupational disease in Great Britain
Important note
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the government’s response has impacted recent trends in health and safety statistics published by HSE. More details can be found in our report on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on health and safety statistics.
12,000
Lung disease deaths each year estimated to be linked to past exposures at work
1.7 million
Workers suffering from work-related ill health (new or long-standing) in 2020/21 (LFS)
Occupational lung diseases contributing to estimated annual current deaths
12,000 lung disease deaths each year estimated to be linked to past exposure at work. 34% due to Chronic Obstructive pulmonary Disease (COPD), 23% Non-asbestos related lung cancer, 20% Asbestos related lung cancer, 20% Mesothelioma and 3% Other disease.
| Diseases | Number of diseases |
|---|---|
| Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) | 34 |
| Non-asbestos related lung cancer | 23 |
| Asbestos related lung cancer | 20 |
| Mesothelioma | 20 |
| Other disease | 3 |
New and long-standing cases of work-related ill health by type, 2020/21
New and long-standing cases of work-related ill health by type, 2020/21
1.7 million workers suffering from work-related ill healh (new or long standing) in 2020/21. 50% suffered stress, depression or anxiety, 28% musculoskeletal disorders and 22% other type of illness.
| Type of illness | Number of illness |
|---|---|
| Stress, depression or anxiety | 50 |
| Musculoskeletal disorders | 28 |
| Other type of illness | 22 |
Rate of work-related ill health per 100,000 workers - new and long-standing
| Year | Work-related ill health | Lower Bound | Upper Bound |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001/02 | 4870 | 4690 | 5050 |
| 2002/03 | 0 | 4575 | 4930 |
| 2003/04 | 4630 | 4460 | 4810 |
| 2004/05 | 4210 | 4040 | 4390 |
| 2005/06 | 3910 | 3740 | 4080 |
| 2006/07 | 4710 | 4530 | 4900 |
| 2007/08 | 4170 | 3990 | 4350 |
| 2008/09 | 3890 | 3710 | 4070 |
| 2009/10 | 4230 | 4030 | 4420 |
| 2010/11 | 3830 | 3630 | 4030 |
| 2011/12 | 3550 | 3370 | 3730 |
| 2012/13 | 0 | 3580 | 3955 |
| 2013/14 | 3990 | 3790 | 4180 |
| 2014/15 | 3910 | 3710 | 4110 |
| 2015/16 | 4050 | 3840 | 4260 |
| 2016/17 | 3970 | 3750 | 4190 |
| 2017/18 | 4120 | 3890 | 4340 |
| 2018/19 | 4060 | 3830 | 4280 |
| 2019/20 | 4830 | 4570 | 5100 |
| 2020/21 | 4990 | 4680 | 5300 |
Trend:
- In the recent years prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the rate of self-reported work-related ill health had been broadly flat. In 2020/21 the rate was higher than the 2018/19 pre-coronavirus levels.
Notes
- Occupational lung diseases typically have a long latency (they take a long time to develop following exposure to the agent that caused them). Therefore, current deaths reflect the effect of past working conditions.
- Estimates of work-related ill health are based on self-reports from the Labour Force Survey (LFS)
- Two new measures have been developed to measure the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on self-reported work-related ill health. More details can be found on the COVID-19 Overview page and in the associated linked reports.
More information on Ill health
Occupational lung disease
- Occupational lung disease
- Work-related asthma
- Work-related Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
- Silicosis and coal workers pneumoconiosis
- Other occupational lung disease
Asbestos-related disease
- All asbestos-related diseases
- Mesothelioma
- Mesothelioma deaths by geographical area
- Mesothelioma deaths by last occupation
- Mesothelioma deaths by geographical area interactive story map
- Asbestosis deaths by geographical area interactive story map