THE ILLS OF SEAFARERS

This issue includes two papers on the health of seafarers. To investigate traumatic deaths in British merchant shipping, Roberts and Marlow1 analysed records spanning 1976–2002—a million seafarer-years at risk. The 835 deaths were mostly accidental, but included suicides, homicides and poisonings; 185 deaths involved disappearances at sea. The accidental mortality rate was 28 times that of all British workers over the period. Rates, although declining, were still up 16-fold in recent times. The authors call for urgent improvements, including better safety awareness, avoidance of certain practices, and care for those at risk of suicide. Meanwhile, Hansen et al2 studied the causes of hospital admission in 1996–2001 in Danish merchant seafarers registered with the Maritime Authority. Employment records were linked with a national in-patient register and hazard ratios calculated for major diagnoses. Injury and poisoning featured strongly among the causes of excess morbidity, as well several diseases related to seafarers ’ lifestyles. Risks varied by rank, charge and ship type. PROCOAGULANT EFFECTS OF PM10 To explore whether PM10 increases the risk of cardiovascular events via bloo