Ischaemic heart disease among workers in occupations associated with heavy lifting

Objectives: To investigate a hypothesized positive association between employment in occupations where heavy lifting is likely to occur, and the risk of ischaemic heart disease (IHD). Material and Methods: Male blue-collar workers from Denmark (N = 516 180) were monitored with respect to hospital treatment or death due to IHD, through national registers over the years 2001–2010. Poisson regression was used to estimate relative rates of IHD between “workers in occupations which, according to an expert opinion, are likely to involve heavy lifting” and “other blue-collar workers.” Prevalent cases were excluded from the analysis. Results: The rate ratio was estimated at 0.97 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.94–1.00) for deaths or hospitalizations due to IHD and 1.07 (95% CI: 0.94–1.21) for deaths due to IHD. Conclusions: The results do not support the hypothesis that occupational heavy lifting is an important risk factor for IHD.