text: **4.4 Conclusions**
  **Work accident data**— fatal and non-fatal — show an impressive decline in the past 20 years, even if 
  one takes into account the significant level of underreporting. Preventive technical and organisational 
  safety measures and sectoral shifts were the crucial factors for this improvement. The relevance of**non-**
  **fatal accidents with severe health consequences**— permanent disability or more than three months’ 
  time-off period (more than 230,000) — should be recognised and further investigated. 
  
  **Public health data**show a significant increase in**life expectancy**and**substantial shifts in morbidity**
  during the past three decades at EU level, also documenting major differences between EU Member 
  States in mortality and morbidity.**Socioeconomic inequality**is an evident reason for higher mortality 
  and morbidity. There is less evidence concerning the correlation between working conditions — as a 
  major element of the socioeconomic status — and mortality and morbidity at EU level. 
  
  The clearest evidence on the**relationship between working conditions and diseases**exists for 
  recognised occupational diseases, and for these, the trend is also strongly downwards. In contrast, the 
  estimates of the development of**work-related diseases**— based on fractions of diseases attributable 
  to work occupation — show a persistently high burden. The current estimates of ILO/WHO and of ICOH 
  range between 115,000 and 180,000 deaths and between 4.5 million and 6.9 million DALYs; advanced 
  research and the incorporation of more disease groups — mental health, diseases caused by biological 
  agents — will significantly increase these figures. Literature, studies and surveys like the EWCS, LFS 
  and the Flash Eurobarometer clearly show the strong relations between health status and occupation. 
  Eurostat works on improvements concerning the morbidity statistics (task force, pilot statistics on 
  occupational diseases). EU-wide morbidity statistics from national administrative sources might be 
  available in the future; currently self-reported health data are the major source for EU-wide harmonised 
  quantitative data. 