OCCUPATIONAL MORTALITY IN NEW ZEALAND MALES 1974–78

Abstract

Occupational mortality among New Zealand males aged 15–64 is examined for the period 1974–78. Age‐standardised mortality rates are presented for each of 6 occupational orders and 79 occupational groups and the rates for major disease groupings are presented for those occupational groups with significantly elevated relative risks. The findings are generally in line with those of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys for England and Wales and a number of associations which have been found in British studies and were also present in the New Zealand data are discussed. Errors in death registration data, together with its limited nature, hamper this type of study. In addition, problems of selection into, and survival in, occupations and confounding by extrinisic factors such as smoking, diet and general lifestyle further complicate the picture. These problems are discussed in relation to the New Zealand context and it is shown that they can be minimised, but not eliminated, by standardising the data for social class. It is concluded that, although the findings of such routine analyses are rarely new, they may reinforce previous knowledge, thus allowing the assessment in New Zealand of occupations which have demonstrated high mortality in overseas studies. 1985 Public Health Association of Australia