Cardiovascular Risk and Back-disorder Intervention Study of Mass Transit Operators

A prospective intervention study was conducted to evaluate an employer/union-sponsored physical and psychological health program, which was offered to 125 transit operators aged >45 years with >15 years of job seniority. The one-year, biweekly program included physical exercise, relaxation, back school, and work-related stress management and diet counseling. A control group (n = 26) was available for comparison. Twenty-seven operators dropped out of the study. WHO cardiovascular risk survey methods, ergometry, Minnesota ECG coding, standardized low-back tests, blood lipids, lead, and carboxyhemoglobin were measured. Before the intervention, the ten-year cardiovascular-disease risk of all study subjects (15.1%) was greater than that of the general reference population (14.0%). After the intervention it fell to 12.9%, but not significantly compared with that of a non-exercising control group, which also showed a reduction. The prevalence and the self-rated intensity of back problems were reduced after the intervention: 55.4% of low-back-pain sufferers reported substantial improvement, and only 12.3% reported substantial worsening. The multidisciplinary intervention program appeared to be effective for musculoskeletal conditions, but not for overall cardiovascular risk, compared with the controls.