[Effect of occupation on health behavior and biological cardiovascular risk factors]

Within the framework of the second survey of MONICA-Switzerland (cantons of Vaud and Fribourg; canton of Tessin), the data of 683 working men were analysed to examine the relation between occupation and cardiovascular risk factors. For this purpose, lifestyle factors (smoking, nutritional habits, physical activity, alcohol intake) as well as blood pressure and serum lipoprotein concentrations were compared among 17 different occupational groups. Furthermore, every occupational group was ranked, based on the medians of the mentioned dependent variables. A strong relationship between socioeconomic status (recorded as number of years of schooling completed) and an index for healthy lifestyle was found. However, in some occupational groups a major discrepancy between socioeconomic status respectively lifestyle and measured cardiovascular risk factors (blood pressure, lipoprotein concentrations) was observed. It is therefore hypothesized that unknown occupational factors adversely affect blood pressure and serum lipoproteins for example in physicians, managers and executives whereas the contrary--beneficial effect of unknown occupational factors--is true for example for drivers and bricklayers.