Incidence and Prevalence of Ischaemic Heart Disease among Urban Busdrivers in Copenhagen

Abstract

A 5-year follow-up study was conducted among all male busdrivers in Copenhagen, Denmark, in addition to a cross-sectional study. In the follow-up study, the SMR for death due to ischaemic heart disease (ICD 410–414) was 144 and SMR for first clinical episode of acute myocardial infarction (ICD 410) was 139, with men in Copenhagen as controls. 80% of the busdrivers (1396 men) participated in the cross-sectional study. The prevalence of questionnaire-positive angina pectoris was 4.9%; in all age groups this was higher than among the controls, locomotive drivers in Denmark. The high health-related selection of bus-drivers is assumed to cause an underestimation of the relative occurrence of ischaemic heart disease. Possible explantions for the findings in this study are discussed.

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