Characteristics of Swedish welders and flame cutters and the general population referent cohort, 1964–2003
| Welders and flame cutters n = 49 488; person years* = 1 436 645 | General population n = 489 572; person years* = 14 583 796 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| *The person time is calculated from 1 January 1964 for welders and comparison cohort identified from the 1960 census (the date the hospital discharge register began) and from 1970 for those identified from the 1970 census. | ||||
| †Censuses in which welders and flame cutters are registered (NYK code = 755). | ||||
| ‡Information on education is only available for 23 908 welders and flame cutters and 235 658 individuals in the comparison cohort identified in the 1970 census. | ||||
| Mean years of follow up | 29.0 | 29.8 | ||
| Vital status, n (%) | ||||
| Alive | 28817 | (58.2) | 301341 | (61.6) |
| Dead | 17518 | (35.4) | 168487 | (34.4) |
| Emigrated | 3153 | (6.4) | 19744 | (4.0) |
| Year of birth, n (%) | ||||
| <1920 | 9991 | (20.2) | 99697 | (20.4) |
| 1920–29 | 10081 | (20.4) | 100161 | (20.5) |
| 1930–39 | 13003 | (26.3) | 128624 | (26.3) |
| 1940–49 | 13737 | (27.8) | 135181 | (27.6) |
| 1950+ | 2676 | (5.4) | 25909 | (5.3) |
| Geographical area, n (%) | ||||
| Götaland (south of Sweden) | 15199 | (30.7) | 150536 | (30.7) |
| Svealand (middle area) | 25902 | (52.3) | 256500 | (52.4) |
| Norrland (northern area) | 8387 | (16.9) | 82536 | (16.9) |
| Year of census†, n (%) | ||||
| 1960 | 15580 | (31.5) | – | – |
| 1970 | 23908 | (48.3) | – | – |
| Both 1960 and 1970 | 10000 | (20.2) | – | – |
| Education‡, n (%) | ||||
| Compulsory school, <9 years | 12076 | (50.5) | 93418 | (39.6) |
| Compulsory school, 9 years | 2121 | (8.9) | 29021 | (12.3) |
| High school, 2 years | 7714 | (32.3) | 46627 | (19.8) |
| High school, 3 years | 1075 | (4.5) | 36249 | (15.4) |
| University, <3 years | 17 | (0.1) | 5497 | (2.3) |
| University, ⩾3 years | 3 | (0.01) | 9696 | (4.1) |
| Postgraduate education | 0 | 0 | 590 | (0.3) |
| Missing information | 902 | (3.8) | 14560 | (6.2) |