Assessment of Type 2 Diabetes Risk Among Nurses Working in the Emergency Department

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Professionals
• Public Health
• Endocrinology

Background:

• Emergency department (ED) nurses experience high occupational stress.
• This stress may contribute to lifestyle factors increasing type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) risk.
• Assessing DM risk in this population is crucial for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the risk of developing type 2 DM among emergency department nurses.
• To identify factors associated with increased DM risk in this cohort.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study design.
• Utilized the Finnish Diabetes Risk Questionnaire (FINDRISK) for risk assessment.
• Collected data on demographics, work experience, lifestyle, and health monitoring.

Main Results:

• A significant proportion of ED nurses exhibited low DM risk (58.3%), with 30% in the mild-risk group and 4.4% in the high-risk group.
• Factors associated with higher DM risk included longer tenure in ED (>10 years), lack of physical activity, presence of chronic diseases, history of hyperglycemia, and prior DM screening.
• Low rates of regular physical activity (12.2%) and insufficient health monitoring (lipid profile, blood pressure) were observed.

Conclusions:

• ED nurses exhibit varied type 2 DM risk profiles.
• Individual factors significantly influence DM risk.
• Implementing regular DM screening and promoting healthy lifestyle modifications are essential for ED nurses.