Occupational groups and main causes of hospitalization: a longitudinal multicohort study of the Finnish working-age population, 1976 to 2010.

Abstract

To determine whether transitions in the hospitalization structure of different occupational groups have followed similar trends. Secular trends for all-cause hospitalization and five main diagnostic categories among six occupational groups were examined between 1976 and 2010 in Finland. The register-based study consisted of a 5-year follow-up of 1,126,499 Finnish working-aged residents in seven consecutive cohorts. Altogether 451,737 hospitalizations were investigated in 1976 to 2010. The risks of all-cause hospitalization, mental disorders, and respiratory illnesses remained relatively stable, whereas that of musculoskeletal disorders increased (between 31% and 90%) and that of cardiovascular diseases decreased (between 41% and 62%) in all occupational groups. The highest variation was found for cancer. A common health transition pattern seems to have occurred in the occupational groups studied. Nevertheless, the health disparities between the groups were sustained.