Abstract
An analysis of job related diseases and occupations associated with these diseases based on a large workers' compensation (WC) data set was performed. The study utilized data from the supplementary data system (SDS) of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) which contained information taken from workers' compensation (WC) reports from Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Iowa, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, and Wisconsin. Occupational diseases associated with the occupations described in the WC reports for 1985 and 1986 were ranked according to their importance as contributing factors to four categories of disability: death, permanent total (PT) disability, permanent partial (PP) disability, and temporary total or partial (TTP) disability. Occupations analyzed were the 1980 United States census categories. Heart attacks and other cardiac problems were the major cause of death, followed by asbestosis and silicosis, which accounted for 72.6, 6, and 4.8% of the total, respectively. Heart conditions and silicosis were the two leading causes of PT disability, accounting for 24 and 12.6% of the cases, respectively. Hearing loss or impairment was the major contributor to PP disability, accounting for 47.2% of the cases. Inflammatory joint diseases, nerve diseases, and dermatitis were the major contributors to TTP disabilities, accounting for 44, 24, and 10.7% of the cases, respectively. Heavy truck driver, manager and administrator, janitor, and sales supervisor were the four occupations associated with the largest number of deaths from heart conditions, accounting for 7.1, 6.8, 6.8, and 5.2% of the total, respectively. Construction laborer was responsible for about half of the cases of PT disability. Machine operator not specified and miscellaneous machine operator were the two occupations contributing the most to PP disability, accounting for 17.33 and 10.04% of the cases, respectively. Assembler was the occupation most frequently associated with TTP disability, accounting for 17.33% of the inflammatory joint diseases and 6.95% of the nerve diseases cases in this category. The authors conclude that the BLS SDS can provide useful insights into the occurrence of various occupational diseases.