Lifestyle factors and risks for work-related diseases

Abstract

Introduction. In the statistics of health disorders of the working population, the indicator of occupationally caused diseases dominates. An assessment of the risk of various chronic diseases depending on lifestyle (LS), environmental situation, hereditary factors and quality of medical care is given. There is a need for a more detailed study of the risks associated with lifestyle characteristics during off-hours. Objective: using the criterion of health risk, to assess the social, economic and behavioral characteristics of the lifestyle of employees. Materials and methods. One thousand four hundred and sixty eight employees were examined. 5 criteria for assessing the risk of health disorders were used: the risks of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), deterioration of health and long-term diseases throughout the year; the risks of hypertension and respiratory diseases. With the help of a questionnaire on a four-point scale, 10 lifestyle characteristics were evaluated outside of working hours. The degree and frequency of normal fatigue at work and workload were assessed - the physiological norm of hours per week. Results. For all risk criteria, mental stress (worries, troubles, anxieties, conflicts), is the most significant with contribution to the risks 5-11%. The socio-economic characteristics of the LS increase the risks of CFS, annual deterioration of health and long-term diseases by 7-10%. Lack of sleep increases the risk of CFS by 8%. A decrease in free off-duty time significantly affects the increase in the risk of CFS and hypertension (6.1% and 4.1%). The increase in the intensity of smoking increases all the risks of health disorders (respiratory diseases by 6.7%). The dependence of the LS on the workload and production fatigue has been established. Limitations. The study is limited to taking into account 10 lifestyle characteristics and 5 criteria for assessing the risk of workers’ health disorders. The disadvantages of this study include the lack of consideration of the lifestyle factor - alcohol consumption. Further studies are supposed to take into account the influence of this behavioral factor. Conclusions. The risks of various health disorders due to lifestyle characteristics have been established. The greater the workload, starting from 43 standard hours per week, the more unhealthy are most lifestyle characteristics, which in turn increase the degree and frequency of fatigue from working conditions and occupational workload.