Mortality among automobile assembly workers. II. White males.

The objective of this study was to examine the cause-specific mortality experience of white male employees from 10 assembly plants of five participating companies. Proportionate mortality ratio (PMR) analyses carried out using both national and local standards of comparison yielded similar results. Statistical significance of PMRs was assessed using the Mantel-Haenszel procedure. Statistically significant PMRs were observed for several causes of death when results for all plants were combined. However, the pattern of significant PMRs observed when results were analyzed separately by company and plant suggests that potential increases in risk for any individual cause of death are limited to no more than two companies and are not observed throughout the industry.