Accidental deaths among Finnish men

Introduction
Accidental fatalities is a significant risk factor for working men. The aim of this study is to examine occupational differences in accidental fatalities among men in Finland.

Methods
Injury fatalities were received from the National Death Registry of Finland. We used the years from 2001 to 2007 with standardised age (5 years intervals). ICD-10 codes 42-49 were used a criteria for accidental death. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).

Results
The highest risk of accident fatality was found among men working in non-professional manufacturing and construction jobs (HR 2.76, 95% CI 2.03-3.75). Professional workers in mines and construction sites had the second highest risk for accidental death (HR 2.30, 95% CI 1.74-3.05). Males working in prosessing work like butchers were significantly more often involved in fatal accidents (HR 2.23, 95% CI 1.49-3.32). Farmers had also an elevated risk of accidental fatality (HR 2.11, 95 % CI 1.58-2.83).

Discussion
This study showed considerable differences in mens' accidental fatalities between different occupational groups. The political aim to equalize health differences between different population groups requires still much effort. On the other hand, our results showed that accident prevention should be focussed to certain occupational groups to make their working and living conditions safe.