Burden of Occupational Health Problems and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in a Selected Industrial Population in South India: Should We be Concerned

Abstract

Introduction: Indian industrial workers had reported a high prevalence of risk factors and morbidity due to non-communicable diseases (NCD). In the past few decades, the nature of work in many organizations has been radically transformed due to growth in the use of information technology, and this has introduced a range of work related morbidity in their daily life. Objective: This study aims at profiling the risk factors of non-communicable diseases and the work related morbidity in an industrial setting in Puducherry, targeting Information Technology sector. Methods: Cross- sectional study was done among the employees of an industry under the Information technology sector (n=907). Survey of behavioural risk factors using structured questionnaires, work related morbidity and anthropometric measurements were done for the study population. Results: Mean age of the study population was 27.8 + 5.5 years. Stress and back ache was reported by almost half of the respondents. Baseline risk assessment showed that around 40% of the employees were obese and 21% were hypertensive. High levels of risk factors and morbidity as in other studies among industrial population was noted in this study. Conclusion: The study indicates high levels of behavioral risk factors and high prevalence of obesity and hypertension in a young working population. Work related morbidity like backache and stress is also high in this industrial sector. The long-term follow-up in such settings will provide an opportunity to design interventions targeting physical and psychosocial environment and health promotion in order to control the outcomes of non communicable diseases. Key words: Cardiovascular risk factors, Industrial population, Occupational Health, Surveillance, Work related morbidity.