Hospitalization due to cancer among German seafarers.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relative risk of cancer among male German seafarers employed on German vessels in respect of various shipboard ranks and types of vessel. METHODS: The seafarers' cancer discharge diagnoses from hospital were compared with those discharge diagnoses from the German general population and expressed as a standardized hospitalization ratio (SHR). RESULTS: The examined seafarers (on average 23,436 per year) showed a higher SHR for malignant neoplasms at all sites, in decreasing order for leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), respiratory cancer, and non-melanoma skin cancer. Seafarers employed on tankers showed a considerably elevated SHR for malignant neoplasms at all sites, which was mainly attributable to their high SHR for leukemia and respiratory cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Seafaring occupations pose an elevated risk of certain cancers. Further studies are required to evaluate to what extent occupational exposure to carcinogenic substances and lifestyle-related unhealthy behaviours contribute to the increased risk of cancer in seafarers.