Health workers: cardiovascular risk and occupational stress

Work might cause severe physical stress associated with emotional overload, especially among hospital employees.

To identify risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and occupational stress among employees of a teaching hospital.

Cross-sectional study conducted with 45 employees of a philanthropic health institution in the central area of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Data collection was performed to analyze anthropometric variables, blood pressure, biochemical markers and indicators of health and occupational stress.

60.0% of the participants reported sedentary behavior. Analysis of non-modifiable risk factors showed that 55.6% of the sample had family history (mother and father) of hypertension, 22.2% of myocardial infarction and stroke and 13.3% of diabetes. Body mass index categories overweight and obesity predominated (55.5%); 73.4% of the sample was categorized as with moderate-to-high risk to health based on the waist-to-hip ratio; the body fat percentage was above normal or indicated tendency to obesity for 73.3% of the participants. About 71.1% of the sample exhibited excellent or normal blood pressure. Total cholesterol was high or borderline for 88.9% of the sample. On assessment of occupational risk, 55.5% of the participants were categorized as with intermediate degree of exposure.

The results point to the relevance of health policies to promote lifestyle changes in and outside the workplace with consequent impact on the physical and mental state of workers.