Statistics which identify the factors that contribute to the two most common types of work related illness have just been released for the first time.

The Health and Safety Executive figures on work-related ill health in Great Britain were recorded by doctors involved in cases of musculoskeletal disorders and mental ill health, which, as in previous years, were the most common among the 23,000 new cases reported by the Health and Occupation Reporting Network.

The musculoskeletal disorders affected mainly the back and upper limbs, and between 2002 and 2004, the tasks that were commonly reported as contributing to them were guiding or holding tools, heavy lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling and keyboard work. The jobs carrying the highest risks of musculoskeletal disorders, according to reports from rheumatologists were: typists, metal plate workers, shipwrights, riveters and road construction operatives. All had an average incidence rate around 15 times the norm for all occupations.

In cases of work-related mental ill health, the most commonly reported factor was simply work pressure, which was mentioned in one quarter of cases. Interpersonal difficulties were a factor in 22% of cases, with traumatic events a factor in 10% and bullying or sexual harassment in 8% of cases.

Consultant psychiatrists reported NCOs and other ranks in the UK armed forces as the occupation with the highest incidence of work-related mental ill health, which in 2002-04 was 17 times the average, followed by medical practitioners at 16 times the average. A consistent pattern in self-reporting surveys is that professional and managerial groups have the highest rates of work-related stress, anxiety or depression, particularly teachers, nurses and other public sector occupations.

Other findings include:

• At almost 90 times the average for all occupational categories 'bakers, flour confectioners' and 'vehicle spray painters' have the highest rates of occupational asthma, according to reports from consultant chest physicians.
• The occupational categories 'hairdressers and barbers' and 'beauticians and related occupations' have the highest rates of contact dermatitis at roughly 16 times the average for all occupations, according to reports from consultant dermatologists.
• In 2004 there were 7,080 new cases assessed as qualifying for compensation under the Department for Work and Pensions' Industrial Injuries Scheme. This compares with 7,910 new cases in 2003. There were falls in cases of chronic bronchitis, vibration white finger and carpal tunnel syndrome. Cases of asbestos-related disease (mostly mesothelioma and asbestosis) continued to rise.
• Each year an estimated 6,000 people die from cancer due to past exposures at work. In 2003 over 1,870 people died from mesothelioma, a cancer caused mainly by occupational exposure to asbestos, and around, as many again are likely to have died from asbestos-related lung cancer. In addition to these cancer deaths, over 100 died from asbestosis and nearly 250 from other types of pneumoconiosis, mostly associated with coal dust and silica.
• Previously published figures show that overall, in 2003/04, an estimated 2.2 million people were suffering from an illness, which they believed was caused or made worse by their work (from the 2003/04 Self-reported Work-related Illness survey).