Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in Taiwanese healthcare workers

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in a sample of Taiwanese healthcare workers. Two thousand thirty-four hospital employees, 30 yr of age and older, were recruited and underwent physical examinations and laboratory testing in December 2003. The study subjects were classified into four job categories, i.e., physicians, nursing staff, medical technicians, and non-medical workers. Various cardiovascular risk factors, including blood biochemical parameters, body-mass index (BMI), and blood pressure were measured for each worker. The odds ratios of having abnormal cardiovascular risk factors as a function of certain jobs were estimated from multivariate logistic regression. Overweight and obesity were independently associated with an increased prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors. Additionally, compared to non-medical workers, medical technicians had a significantly greater prevalence of hypertension, with an odds ratio of 1.74 (95% CI=1.05-2.91). The results suggest a need for managing hypertensive disorders among medical technicians, and urged that the health conditions of hospital employees should not be overlooked.