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Differential aging means the difference between chronological and biological age ; this concept is one of the best general health level indicators for individuals and groups, being both a diagnostic and a research instrument for the study of environmental sources of health variations. In an industrial setting, our results indicate strong over-aging in the case of unskilled manual workers, which might be related to lack of interest in the mechanical, repetitive tasks at work and to possible alienation of this employee category.

A study has been conducted to obtain representative data on the health of industrial workers in northern Switzerland. 1260 men from 44 plants were covered. At the time of the study 21.3% were under treatment by a doctor. From all these patients 14.4% were suffering from heart diseases, 12.6% from articular rheumatism and muscle diseases, 10.3% from neurological and 9% from dermatological diseases. Of subjects aged 43--65, 1.7 times more were under treatment by a doctor than subjects aged 20--42.

The goal of this study is to demonstrate relationships between journey to work and health status. 546 employees of industrial plants in northeastern Switzerland have been examined. We have demonstrated a statistically significant relationship between the length of journey to work and arterial blood pressure. Furthermore some dependences on the kind of transport hard to explain are demonstrated, but most of them aren't statistically significant.

To obtain representative data about the health of industrial workers in nothern Switzerland, 1260 men from 44 plants have been examined. At the time of our study, 21% were under treatemnt by a doctor and 52% had so been 1-3 times during the previous year. 44% hat at some time in the past been patients in a surgical department, 13% in a department for internal medicine and 29% in a department for special diseases. During the previous year 39% reported loss of working days through illness. In 13%, working days had been lost through accidents. 48% were smokers, 38% had never smoked, and 14% had stopped smoking. Alcohol was consumed daily by 37%, three times a week by 30% and once a week by 18%; 11% drank rarely and 4% never, 16% took medicines often, 40% rarely and 44% never. The results of the study are classified by 5-year-age groups and compared.

Representative studies on 1260 men and 980 women working in Swiss factories showed, that 21% of the men and 27% of the women (5% gynecological diseases) were in medical care in the moment of our examination.

The authors demonstrate the effects of hyperoxemia in dogs subjected to extracorporeal circulation. Arterial Po2 was maintained between 100 and 140 mm Hg in a control group and above 200 mm Hg in another group. There was no morbidity or mortality in these experiments. Postoperative functional status as well as hematological and biochemical data were similar in both groups. However, free plasma hemoglobin was 50% higher in animals subjected to hyperoxygenation. It is thus concluded that on the basis of these results hyperoxygenation has no beneficial effect on the animals submitted to total body bypass and moreover that arterial Po2 over 200 mm Hg increases hemolysis.