Peptic ulcer among urban bus drivers in Denmark

As part of a survey on the work environment of bus drivers, 2045 (83%) of 2465 male bus drivers in the three major cities in Denmark in 1978 answered a postal questionnaire on health and working conditions. In order to evaluate the relative occurrence of peptic ulcer among the bus drivers, a follow-up study was also conducted. All hospital discharges with a peptic ulcer diagnosis among the bus drivers were registered from the Danish National Patient Register. All Danish men were used as reference group. On the basis of the 1978-questionnaire association between occupational and psychosocial factors and subsequent hospital discharge with a peptic ulcer diagnosis was studied. The prevalence of abdominal pain alleviated by food intake was 12% among bus drivers and 6% in the reference group. The incidence of hospital discharge with duodenal ulcer among younger bus drivers was twice the incidence among Danish men in the same age group. The incidence of all manifestations of peptic ulcer disease among bus drivers did not differ from the incidence among Danish men. Of occupational and psycho-social factors, wage dissatisfaction and smoking showed statistically significant association with hospital discharge with PU in a 6 3/4-year period. Job dissatisfaction, stress symptoms and lack of some social network factors tended to increase the risk of hospital discharge with PU.