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Morbidity in retired coke oven plant workers
Author(s) -
Mayer L.,
Chau N.,
Bertrand J. P.,
Guenzi M.,
Patris A.,
Pham Q. T.,
Mur J. M.,
Moulin J. J.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.4700220308
Subject(s) - medicine , coke oven , occupational exposure , environmental health , population , surgery , coke , waste management , engineering
The effect of past occupational exposure on morbidity was studied in 354 coke oven workers in Lorraine Collieries (France) who retired between 1963 and 1982, and were still alive in 1988; 96% of them participated in this study. Occupational exposure to respiratory hazards during the working life was retraced for each subject. No significant association between the occupational exposure and the frequency of ischemic cardiopathies, arterial hypertension, gastro‐duodenal ulcers, and respiratory symptoms was revealed. However, subjects who had worked on the Ovens, in the Workshops, and in the Byproducts showed a prevalence of arterial hypertension significantly higher than the non‐ or slightly exposed subjects. The healthy worker effect phenomenon, the exclusion of deceased subjects, and the small size of this retiree population may conceal possible differences between exposure groups.