Hazard detection by illness pattern similarities

Health hazard detection was investigated by using cluster analysis of illness patterns of occupational groups. This approach was expected to avoid the bias problems of simple illness rates and to detect hazards by their effects on illness severity. The practical use of this approach lead to the following criterion: an environmental exposure of people associated with an illness pattern typical of a more advanced age is a health hazard. The use of this criterion and methodology is widely applicable in industry and the prospect for further improvement in detection methods is good.