ILMA Compoundings October 2016 - 62

THE WHITE PAPER

The Heart of the Matter:
CVD and the Workplace
Eugene M. White, Ph.D., M.S., CMFS

W

hile reading an issue of Morbidity and Mortality
Weekly Report (MMWR) (published by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/
CDC), this past summer, one particular study perked my
attention: "Cardiovascular Health Status by Occupational
Group - 21 States, 2013."1 The report states that cardiovascular
disease (CVD) causes 1 out of 3 deaths in the United States.
Unfortunately, this sobering statistic has been around
for some time and continues to rise, but did you know
that cardiovascular morbidity and mortality account for
approximately $120 billion in lost productivity in the workplace?
The MMWR article goes on to say that "...with significant
health disparities among different occupational groups, the
results of this study can be used by state organizations and
private companies to target cardiovascular disease prevention
programs and improve workplace health promotion." Now,
that really got my attention.
There are over 130 million employees in the U.S., which
is 55 percent of all U.S. adults, representing an important
demographic group to evaluate cardiovascular health. The
2016 MMWR report focuses on occupational populationbased data from the 2013 CDC Behavioral Risk Factor
Surveillance System (BRFSS)1 and seven cardiovascular health
metrics (CHMs) sometimes referred to as "Life's Simple Seven":

The BRFSS, established in 1984 by CDC, is the largest system
of telephone health surveys in the world, and is state-based.2
The system collects information on health risk behaviors,
preventive health practices and health care access primarily
related to chronic disease and injury; all 50 states, Puerto Rico,
the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam are surveyed.
The BRFSS self-scoring method is fairly simple: The scale
is 0-7, and you get one point for each CHM. Therefore,
a score of seven indicates "ideal" cardiovascular health,
whereas a score of zero is "not ideal" (time to make a doctor's
appointment). In summary, fewer than 4 percent of U.S. adults
meet all seven of the American Heart Association's CHMs,
and nearly 10 percent scored between zero and two (mostly
transportation, material moving, community and social service
employees).
The authors of the study say that "the cardiovascular health
metrics are considered to be modifiable at the individual
level," and that "it is important to consider the impact that
occupational factors might have on the metrics (CHMs),"
including the following:
* Exposure to chemical and physical agents
* Workplace stress and adverse work organization (workload,
total hours)

* Not smoking

* Shift rotation

* Being physically active

* Job assignment and design

* Having normal blood pressure

* Organizational culture

* Having normal blood sugar

Resources for Employers and Employees

* Having a normal weight (BMI)
* Having normal cholesterol levels
* Eating a healthy diet

The MMWR study notes disparities in cardiovascular
health between occupational groups and, thus, advocates
employer-sponsored health promotion activities and
allocation of prevention resources. For instance, CDC has a

Vol. 66 No. 10 * 62 * October 2016 Compoundings
ILMA Compoundings October 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ILMA Compoundings October 2016
