Seafarer deaths at sea: a German mortality study
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Seafarer deaths at sea: a German mortality study. / Oldenburg, M; Herzog, Jan ; Harth, V.
In: OCCUP MED-OXFORD, Vol. 66, No. 2, 01.03.2016, p. 135-7.Research output: SCORING: Contribution to journal › SCORING: Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Seafarer deaths at sea: a German mortality study
AU - Oldenburg, M
AU - Herzog, Jan
AU - Harth, V
N1 - © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.
PY - 2016/3/1
Y1 - 2016/3/1
N2 - BACKGROUND: Seafarers face numerous hazards during their work at sea.AIMS: To demonstrate the frequency and causes of mortality in German seafarers.METHODS: The deaths of all German seafarers from 1998 to 2008 were counted and evaluated using the German central civil register in Berlin.RESULTS: The study cohort comprised a total of 159588 seafarer-years. During the 11 year period, 68 male seafarers died on board. The average age was 48.5 years (SD 12.7 years) and comprised 35 deck officers, 16 engine officers and 17 general crew members (i.e. non-officers from the deck and engine room crew and galley staff). Cause of death was documented in 45 cases (66%): 26 were due to unnatural causes (occupational accidents, suicides) and 19 due to natural causes (particularly, ischaemic heart disease). The crude annual mortality rate for German seamen was 65 per 100000 seafarer-years. For cardiac causes, this rate was significantly higher among deck and engine officers (24 and 38) than among crew ranks (7 per 100000 seafarer-years) (P < 0.05). Deck and engine offi-cers also showed a higher mortality rate for accidents (28 and 22) than crew ranks (15) (P < 0.05). The age-stratified fatal accident rate of German seafarers aboard was 10 times higher than the mortality of the German general population on shore.CONCLUSIONS: Seafaring constitutes an occupation with a high risk for serious accidents. Due to the unexpectedly high mortality rate among officers associated with work-related accidents, this occupational group should receive more effective education on safety behaviour on board.
AB - BACKGROUND: Seafarers face numerous hazards during their work at sea.AIMS: To demonstrate the frequency and causes of mortality in German seafarers.METHODS: The deaths of all German seafarers from 1998 to 2008 were counted and evaluated using the German central civil register in Berlin.RESULTS: The study cohort comprised a total of 159588 seafarer-years. During the 11 year period, 68 male seafarers died on board. The average age was 48.5 years (SD 12.7 years) and comprised 35 deck officers, 16 engine officers and 17 general crew members (i.e. non-officers from the deck and engine room crew and galley staff). Cause of death was documented in 45 cases (66%): 26 were due to unnatural causes (occupational accidents, suicides) and 19 due to natural causes (particularly, ischaemic heart disease). The crude annual mortality rate for German seamen was 65 per 100000 seafarer-years. For cardiac causes, this rate was significantly higher among deck and engine officers (24 and 38) than among crew ranks (7 per 100000 seafarer-years) (P < 0.05). Deck and engine offi-cers also showed a higher mortality rate for accidents (28 and 22) than crew ranks (15) (P < 0.05). The age-stratified fatal accident rate of German seafarers aboard was 10 times higher than the mortality of the German general population on shore.CONCLUSIONS: Seafaring constitutes an occupation with a high risk for serious accidents. Due to the unexpectedly high mortality rate among officers associated with work-related accidents, this occupational group should receive more effective education on safety behaviour on board.
U2 - 10.1093/occmed/kqv153
DO - 10.1093/occmed/kqv153
M3 - SCORING: Journal article
C2 - 26409049
VL - 66
SP - 135
EP - 137
JO - OCCUP MED-OXFORD
JF - OCCUP MED-OXFORD
SN - 0962-7480
IS - 2
ER -
