Mortality from cardio-cerebrovascular diseases among dynamite workers--an extended case-referent study

Increased mortality from cardio-cerebrovascular diseases among male dynamite workers was reported in 1977 and was supported two years later by findings in a small cohort study from another Swedish dynamite population. The excess risk was confined to those with long-term employment. The original case-referent study comprised the years between 1955-1975 and the register of deaths and burials in the parish around the dynamite factory was used as the source of subjects. The same register has now been used for the time period 1976-1980. We have used identical requirements for this extension as in the original study, i.e., confined to men with more than one year of employment and aged 36-70. Cases were those who died from ischaemic heart diseases and cerebrovascular diseases according to WHO classification rules and referents those who died from all other diseases remaining after the primary exclusions. 102 men had died in the parish during the extension period. 15 were excluded. There were 36 deaths from heart diseases, 12 from cerebrovascular diseases and 39 referent diagnoses. Six of the "heart-cases", three of the "c-v-cases" and six of the referents were exposed. The Mantel-Haenszel estimation of the risk ratio for cerebrovascular diseases during the period 1955-80 is 2.9 (95% confidence interval 0.9-6.4) and 2.7 for cardio-vascular diseases (1.4-5.4). Among 25 men exposed more than 20 years only one died from anything else but a cardio-cerebrovascular disease.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)