Occupation and risk of death from coronary heart disease
J. E. Buring, D. A. Evans, M. Fiore, B. Rosner and C. H. Hennekens
Conflicting data have been reported regarding the association between
occupation and coronary heart disease. We evaluated data on a series of 568
married men who died of coronary heart disease and an equal number of
controls matched for age, sex, and neighborhood of residence. Information
was collected from the wives of both cases and controls on a larger number
of variables, including usual occupation, job-related and leisure-time
physical activity, medical history, and life-style. Usual occupation was
dichotomized into blue-collar and white-collar work according to the
Edwards' classification. White-collar workers had a statistically
significant 30% decreased risk of fatal coronary heart disease compared
with blue-collar workers once the effects of reported coronary risk factors
were considered (relative risk, 0.70; 95% confidence limits, 0.5 to 0.96).
These data suggest that occupation is significantly associated with fatal
coronary heart disease, and that this increased risk is not explained by a
large number of known coronary risk factors. It still remains unclear,
however, whether other uncontrolled variables explain the observed
association.
