Australian occupational mortality, 1965–67: cause specific or general susceptibility

Summary There have been few attempts to examine theories of disease causation using occupational mortality data. This may be due in part to the fact that only a few countries have systematically produced details of occupational mortality. It is well known that some occupational groups are clearly at increased mortality risk from a number of specific causes of death (e.g. industrial workers and accidents). Other occupational groups may be at increased risk from a number of causes of death (e.g. miners and lung cancer, emphysema, industrial accidents). A third, and more interesting group of workers, are those who may be at increased risk from most causes of death. Such workers may be described as being subject to a general susceptibility to disease and death. Using Australian mortality data, a number of occupational groups and their mortality patterns are examined. Two theories of disease causation (psychosom‐aticist and sociosomaticist) have been advanced to explain the finding that some occupational groups exhibit a general susceptibility to most causes of death