Lobar pneumonia - an occupational disease in welders

Coggon, D., Inskip, H.M., Winter, P. and Pannett, B. (1994) Lobar pneumonia - an occupational disease in welders. The Lancet, 344 (8914), 41-43. (doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(94)91056-1). (PMID:7912307)

Abstract

We have used data from three analyses of occupational mortality for England and Wales to investigate a suspected hazard of pneumonia in welders. Mortality from the disease was consistently raised in welders aged 15-64, with standardised mortality ratios of 184 (95% Cl 150-224) in 1959-63 and 157 (121-200) in 1970-72. Analysis of data for 1979-80 and 1982-90 showed that the increased risk is attributable mainly to an excess of pneumococcal and unspecified lobar pneumonia (proportional mortality ratio 255, 95% Cl 192-332). No excess occurred in men above retirement age (65). A possible explanation of these findings is that welding fume reversibly increases the susceptibility of the lung to pneumonic infection. The observation of a similar mortality pattern in moulders and coremakers points to the metallic component of the fume as a possible culprit, but ozone or oxides of nitrogen could also be implicated. There are grounds for lobar pneumonia to be considered an occupational disease in welders

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Contributors

Author: D. Coggon

Author: H.M. Inskip

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