[Work environment and health in the maritime occupations]

The health risks for seamen exceed those of other occupational groups and involve serious social problems. Notwithstanding, the preventive measures of maritime medicine have low priority in most countries. The Nordic countries should lead the way in this field, not least because they have a traditional interest in social and preventive medicine but also because the maritime occupations there play a major role. Several practitioners of occupational medicine in the Nordic countries have suggested the establishment of both an industrial health service for seamen and research institutes for maritime medicine.