Death Rates Among Physically Active and Sedentary Employees of the Railroad Industry

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Abstract
A study was conducted of death rates among clerks, switchmen, and section men employed by the railroad industry to obtain information on the relationship between physical activity or exercise and coronary heart disease. Social Security number, age, sex, months of service, and occupation of all male clerks, switchmen, and section men who had 10 years of service in the industry employed by Class I railroad and terminal and switching companies in 1954 were obtained from the Railroad Retirement Board. For this study, the cohort was defined as white males in the above occupations who had acquired 114 months of service by December 31, 1951, who worked in 1954 and were from 40 to 64 years of age. Data from death certificates submitted to the board for men who died in 1955 and 1956 in active service or retirement were matched against the cohort list to identify deaths to be admitted to the study. Age and occupation specific death rates were calculated for total deaths and a number of specific causes. A total of 85, 112 man-years of clerks, 61, 630 man-years of switchmen, and 44, 867 man-years of section men were studied. Age-adjusted rates for all deaths were 11.83 per 1,000 per year for clerks, 10.29 for switchmen, and 7.62 for section men. Age-adjusted rates for deaths ascribed to arteriosclerotic heart disease were 5.7 per 1,000 for clerks, 3.9 for switchmen, and 2.8 for section men. Since only a small number of deaths were reported in men who worked in 1954 and retired in 1955 and 1956, the death rates reported are for practical purposes in-service death rates. It is planned to follow the cohort for several additional years to study the effects of deaths in retirement and to obtain a larger experience. It is concluded that the results are consistent with the hypothesis that men in sedentary occupations have more coronary heart disease than those in occupations requiring moderate to heavy physical activity.