THE IMPACT OF OCCUPATIONAL AND LIFESTYLE FACTORS ON STATE OF ARTERIAL VESSELS IN COPPER INDUSTRY WORKERS

Abstract

Introduction. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death in working-age population, including mortality occurring through occupational fatalities. The core principle in fighting CVDs is having special consideration for individuals with a high risk of its development. In order to identify those individuals, the SCORE (Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation) system is advised. The realizations (i.e. the effects of exposure) with respect to the same risk factors may vary across individuals. Therefore, it is of urging importance to conduct an assessment of the integral cardiovascular risk estimates that are informative of coming-to-an-effect long-term exposures to adverse factors and helpful in identifying changes at early reversible stages of CVD. Material and methods. A cross-sectional study included 108 male workers aged 27-63 years, without apparent health disorders who been working in unsafe conditions over from 4 to 40 years, employed as occupational staff (converter furnace operators, charge workers, burners, smelters) in copper production enterprises of the Sverdlovsk region. Clinical examination and laboratory tests were conducted at the Yekaterinburg Medical Research Center in 2017-2018. The evaluated indices included: total cholesterol (TC), glucose, Pb and Cu level in blood. A 3D-sphygmography with CAVI assessment and aa. carotides ultrasound with intima-media thickness (IMT) assessment were performed. Cardiovascular risk (CVR) was evaluated according to the SCORE assessment. Results. The following CVR factors were identified: smoking (72.2%), obesity of various classes (33.3%), TC > 4.9 mmol/l (57.9%), high fasting glucose (73.9%) and arterial hypertension stages 1-2 (40.7%). An arterial vessel stiffness increase by CAVI (>8.0) was found in 28.7% of subjects. Associations were found between CAVI index and (i) total CVR level as evaluated by SCORE (p=0.00105), (ii) blood Cu level (r=0.33). Therefore, further research is needed.