Abstract
Background: Employment in the administrative sector is characterized by prolonged sedentary work, which has been tied to increased morbidity and compromised health. The aim of this study was to determine cardiovascular, cardiorespiratory and metabolic risk parameters of German office workers (OWs) in comparison to OWs from other nations. Material and Methods: A total of 46 male office workers from the North Rhine-Westphalia region (Germany) participated in the survey. Anthropometric measurements, cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors, as well as laboratory parameters were taken. The 10-year cardiovascular risk was calculated by using the Framingham risk score. The diagnosis of metabolic syndrome was based on the criteria of the International Diabetes Federation. Cardiorespiratory status was assessed by exercise spirometry. Results: The analyzed group of OWs demonstrated a high prevalence of preobesity (Body Mass Index 26.4 ± 4 and waist circumference 97.3 ± 11.7 cm) and 58.7% of the OWs showed an abnormally large waist circumference. Cardiovascular risk was correspondingly elevated as compared with other international studies (9.7% ± 9.2%). High risk cardiovascular profiles were detected in 10.7% of the participants and 33% of the OWs in our study group were diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. The oxygen uptake of the OWs was 34.1 ± 8.1 mL/kg−1·min−1. Conclusions: The German OWs show elevated cardiovascular risk assessed using the Framingham risk score and also a high tendency for metabolic syndrome. The OWs need to be made further aware of the cardiovascular risk and resulting health implications. Implementation of health promotion concepts such as corporate sports activities or nutrition courses should be taken into consideration to counteract cardiovascular risk factors and the subsequent development of cardiovascular disease in later life.
Highlights
Physical activity is recognized as one of the most important factors protecting against cardiovascular disease and cancer worldwide [1,2,3].Healy et al [4] described harmful associations of prolonged sedentary time with cardiometabolic and inflammatory biomarkers in U.S adults
This study prospectively examined cardiovascular, cardiorespiratory, and metabolic parameters in German office workers (OWs) in order to collect epidemiographic risk parameters associated with this occupational group
In about 50% of the cases, our study cohort showed an increase of diastolic and systolic blood pressure at rest
Summary
Physical activity is recognized as one of the most important factors protecting against cardiovascular disease and cancer worldwide [1,2,3].Healy et al [4] described harmful associations of prolonged sedentary time with cardiometabolic and inflammatory biomarkers in U.S adults. Physical activity is recognized as one of the most important factors protecting against cardiovascular disease and cancer worldwide [1,2,3]. In the 1950s, research showed that employment requiring high physical activity at work had lower rates of cardiovascular-associated diseases as compared with physically inactive work [5]. Morris et al were the first to describe the correlation between physical activity and a lower incidence of ischaemic heart disease. Employment in the administrative sector is characterized by prolonged sedentary work, which has been tied to increased morbidity and compromised health. The aim of this study was to determine cardiovascular, cardiorespiratory and metabolic risk parameters of German office workers (OWs) in comparison to OWs from other nations. Anthropometric measurements, cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors, as well as laboratory parameters were taken. The diagnosis of metabolic syndrome was based on the criteria of the International Diabetes
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