In 1964, temporary or permanent disability pension was granted to 2.9 per thousand of all men in Malmö aged 16 to 66 years. The figure for 1974 was 10.6 per thousand, i.e. 3.7 times as high. The 235 men who in 1964 for the first time had been granted temporary or permanent disability pension by the Regional Social Insurance Office were compared with 235 men chosen at random from the 893 who in 1974 had been granted these benefits for the first time. The relation between temporary and permanent disability pension in the 1964 material was 1:2, and in the 1974 material, 1:4. In the 1964 material, the average age was 54.9 years; in the latter 57.4. The main diagnoses mental disorders, diseases of circulatory system, and diseases of the musculoskeletal system represent about 70% of the cases in each of the materials.