Coronary heart disease in Norwegian sea-pilots: part of the occupational hazard?

A near maximal bicycle exercise test revealed a prevalence of positive exercise ECG's of 8/68 among apparently healthy sea-pilots and 93/2014 among apparently healthy men of comparable age in Oslo (P less than 0.01). This difference could not be explained in terms of differences in commonly accepted coronary heart disease risk factors (cholesterol/triglycerides, smoking habits and blood pressure). Reasons for the difference should be sought in the working environment of the pilots as well as in possible unfavourable life habits adapted during leisure time as indicated by a relative increase in body weight and somewhat lower working capacity in pilots than in age matched counterparts from Oslo.