Cardiovascular Health Status by Occupational Group - 21 States, 2013

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) accounts for one of every three deaths in the United States, making it the leading cause of mortality in the country (1). The American Heart Association established seven ideal cardiovascular health behaviors or modifiable factors to improve CVD outcomes in the United States. These cardiovascular health metrics (CHMs) are 1) not smoking, 2) being physically active, 3) having normal blood pressure, 4) having normal blood glucose, 5) being of normal weight, 6) having normal cholesterol levels, and 7) eating a healthy diet (2). Meeting six or all seven CHMs is associated with a lower risk for all-cause, CVD, and ischemic heart disease mortalities compared with the risk to persons who meet none or only one CHM (3). Fewer than 2% of U.S. adults meet all seven of the American Heart Association's CHMs (4). Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality account for an estimated annual $120 billion in lost productivity in the workplace; thus, workplaces are viable settings for effective health promotion programs (5). With over 130 million employed persons in the United States, accounting for about 55% of all U.S. adults, the working population is an important demographic group to evaluate with regard to cardiovascular health status. To determine if an association between occupation and CHM score exists, CDC analyzed data from the 2013 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) industry and occupation module, which was implemented in 21 states. Among all occupational groups, community and social services employees (14.6%), transportation and material moving employees (14.3%), and architecture and engineering employees (11.6%) had the highest adjusted prevalence of meeting two or fewer CHMs. Transportation and material moving employees also had the highest prevalence of "not ideal" ("0" [i.e., no CHMs met]) scores for three of the seven CHMs: physical activity (54.1%), blood pressure (31.9%), and weight (body mass index [BMI]; 75.5%). Disparities in cardiovascular health status exist among U.S. occupational groups, making occupation an important consideration in employer-sponsored health promotion activities and allocation of prevention resources.