Rheumatic complaints among workers in iron foundries.

Surveys of the prevalence and social effects of rheumatic diseases in several industries carried out by the Arthritis and Rheumatism Council's Industrial Survey Unit have indicated that, although the prevalence of rheumatic complaints varies between occupations, this variation does not seem to be related to the physical effort of the work involved (Anderson and Duthie, 1963; Partridge, Anderson, McCarthy, and Duthie, 1965). However, significant differences do apparently exist between industries, as was shown by the difference in the prevalence of rheumatic complaints between coal miners and dockyard workers (Anderson and Duthie, 1963). To explore further the relationship between the prevalence and the social and economic effects of rheumatism, these surveys have been extended to other industries. During the course of a pilot survey, it was noted that foundry workers had a higher complaint rate than other groups, although with the small numbers of men involved the significance of this difference was uncertain. For this reason a group of iron foundries was selected for more extended study. Iron foundries offered a selection of occupations demanding varying degrees of physical effort generally performed under difficult and changeable environmental corditiens.