[The concept of differential aging (its use in health study in the workplace).]

Differential aging means the difference between chronological and biological age ; this concept is one of the best general health level indicators for individuals and groups, being both a diagnostic and a research instrument for the study of environmental sources of health variations. In an industrial setting, our results indicate strong over-aging in the case of unskilled manual workers, which might be related to lack of interest in the mechanical, repetitive tasks at work and to possible alienation of this employee category.