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Impact of Secondary Prevention in an Occupational High-Risk Group
Laura S Welch1, John Dement, Knut Ringen
1Center for Construction Research and Training Silver Spring, Maryland (Dr Welch, Dr Ringen, Ms Quinn); Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina (Dr Dement); and Zenith American Solutions, Oak Ridge, Tennessee (Ms Cranford).
Background:
A study of medical outcomes among 6857 elderly construction workers who received an initial and at least one periodic follow-up examination as a result of participating in a medical screening program was undertaken.
Methods:
We compared results from the initial examination to follow-up examinations delivered at least 3 years after the initial examination for the following outcomes: body mass index (BMI); total serum cholesterol; nonhigh-density lipoprotein (non-HDL) cholesterol; hemoglobin A1c, hypertension; current cigarette smoking; and 10-year cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk scores.
Results:
Statistically significant improvements (P < 0.05) were observed for all measures except BMI.
Conclusions:
Participation in a periodic medical screening program for elderly construction workers is associated with a favorable impact on common health outcomes. When presented with a program designed for them, blue-collar workers are motivated to seek improvements in their health status.
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