Mortality risks among blue- and white-collar workers: A time series study among Japanese men aged 25-64 years from 1980 to 2015

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to analyse age-standardised mortality trends in Japan among blue- and white-collar male workers aged 25-64 years, by major causes of mortality from 1980 to 2015.

Methods: Five-yearly mortality data were extracted from occupation-specific vital statistics maintained by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. A time series study was conducted among employed men aged 25-64 years. Age-standardised mortality trends by occupational category were calculated separately for all cancers, ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and suicide. Poisson regression analysis was performed to analyse mortality trends by occupational category for each cause.

Results: Mortality rates for all cancers and ischaemic heart disease were higher among white-collar workers than blue-collar workers throughout the 35-year study period. The gap in the mortality rates for all four causes of death among blue- and white-collar workers widened in 2000 after Japan's economic bubble burst in the late 1990s. Simultaneously, suicide mortality rates among white-collar workers increased sharply and have remained higher than among blue-collar workers.

Conclusions: White-collar male workers in Japan have a higher risk of mortality than male blue-collar workers. However, despite substantial differences, significant progress has been made in recent years in reducing mortality across all occupations in Japan.