[Occupational diseases notified in men and women in Spain in 2004]

The knowledge of the occupational diseases incidence is an essential requisite for the adoption of rational control measures. The official statistics of the occupational diseases don't include the sex variable. The objective of this study is to describe occupational diseases recognized by the Spanish social security system in 2004 and assess the differences between men and women.

We describe the information of the Spanish Occupational Disease Registry notified in 2004. The considered variables are: sex, age, economic activity, occupation, and time in the workplace, size of the company and Autonomous Community. Percentages, crude and specific incidence rates per 100.000 workers and rates ratios have been computed as indicators.

28.728 occupational diseases were recorded in Spain in 2004. Women's incidence rate was 188,7 per 100.000 workers and 217,8 for men. The average age of occurrence was 39.4 +/- 1 years for men and 37.6 +/- 11 years for women. The exposure time was lower than 3 years for 52.7% of the recorded diseases in women, and 44,6% in men.

We appreciate gender differences in the occupational diseases notified and recorded in Spain in 2004. The global incidence rate was higher in men, but the specific incidence rates in most of the economic activities and occupations were higher in women. Occupational diseases in women are mostly notified by big companies.