Study of cardiovascular risk factors among tertiary hospital employees and their families

Prevalence and Characteristics of Health and Wellness Programs for Arab Hospitals' Employees: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background

Compared to the general workforce, hospital staff has a greater incidence of chronic diseases and mental health illnesses. Wellness programs have been shown to improve the health and well-being of hospital employees by reducing risk factors and promoting healthy behaviors. In the Arab World, there are no available studies on the number, nature, or impact of wellness services provided to healthcare workers.

Objective

The study aims to assess the prevalence, characteristics, and components of health and wellness programs targeting hospital employees in Arab countries. It also aims to test the association of hospitals' characteristics and the challenges faced by these hospitals with the availability of such programs.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online questionnaire in English and Arabic emailed to directors of Arab hospitals registered in the Arab Hospital Federation.

Results

Only 39.5% of the hospitals in the Arab region have an established wellness program. No significant association was found between hospital characteristics and the availability of these wellness programs. The most provided services for hospital staff are Flu vaccine (90.7%), pre-employment medical exam (79.1%), healthy food options (65.1%), and health risk assessment (60.5%), while the least common provided services are mental health (20.9%) and stress management (23.3%). The most common challenges facing wellness services (scale: 0-10) are financial restriction (5.95), creating a culture of health (5.88), and motivating employees (5.56). Only 4.7% of hospitals provide incentives to participate in their wellness programs.

Conclusion

In general, Arab hospitals lack a wellness culture, and more investment is needed in essential wellness services such as mental health, weight reduction, stress management, and smoking cessation.

Profile of Non-communicable disease risk factors among nurses in a tertiary care hospital in South India

PURPOSE

The work nature of nurses and the associated lifestyle changes put them at high risk of developing non-communicable diseases (NCDs). This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of NCD risk factors among nurses working in a tertiary care hospital in Puducherry and to determine the associated factors among nurses.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study among all nurses (N=1217) in the tertiary care hospital aged between 21 and 60 from May 2019 to April 2020. We assessed NCDs behavioral, physical and biochemical risk factors using a self-administered questionnaire. The adjusted prevalence ratio was calculated using a generalized linear regression model to determine factors associated with NCD risk factors.

RESULTS

The response rate was 99% (1217/1229), and 77.5 % of the participants were women. Current tobacco use, and alcohol consumption were 1.5% (95% CI: 0.8-2.2) and 2.9% (95% CI: 2-3.9) respectively with significantly higher prevalence among men. Overweight or Obesity (BMI >23 kg/m2) was 77.7%, with a significantly higher prevalence among those aged ≥30 and married. Prevalence of hypertension was 14.4 % (95% CI: 12.5-16.4), and diabetes mellitus was 11.5 % (95% CI: 9.7-13.6) were significantly higher among those aged ≥50 years. One-third of nurses, 34.3% (95% CI: 31.6-37.1), had hypercholesterolemia, significantly higher among men.

CONCLUSION

We found a high prevalence of various NCD risk factors among the nurses. We highlight the urgent need for initiating health promotion interventions, especially to improve intake of healthy diet and physical activity among nurses aged ≥30 years.

Sleep Quality and Daytime Sleepiness among the Clinicians Working in a Tertiary Care Center in Sikkim, India

BACKGROUND

Doctors in India have increased workload and are at risk for poor sleep and excessive daytime sleepiness which have not been explored much.

METHODS

One hundred doctors selected by convenience sampling from different departments of the hospital were assessed cross-sectionally. Physical parameters which were assessed included height, weight, blood pressure, and diabetes status. Other variables assessed included durations of duty hours and social media usage. Sleep quality and daytime sleepiness were assessed with the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), respectively.

RESULTS

Mean age of the participants was 35.3 years with a SD of 6.21. In all, 42% were female. The overall prevalence of poor quality of sleep was 28.3%. Among the participants, junior and senior residents were the most affected; 45% of the junior residents were having a poor quality of sleep. Daytime sleepiness was significantly more common among the junior residents as compared with doctors of other designations (P =0.02). The mean duration of duty hours was highest for the junior residents. Male participants were more likely to be obese and to have systemic hypertension. No significant difference was found for social media usage among different designations or gender.

CONCLUSION

Poor sleep quality and excessive daytime sleepiness are highly prevalent among the doctors, especially those who are lower in the hierarchy. Interventions for physical and psychological morbidity among the doctors and strict implementation of guidelines governing duty hours and call schedule of junior physicians are recommended.

Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factors among Employees and Their Families of a Saudi University: An Epidemiological Study

Objectives

To assess the prevalence of noncommunicable disease (NCD) risk factors among Saudi university employees and their families; to estimate the cardiovascular risk (CVR) amongst the study population in the following 10years.

Methods

The NCD risk factors prevalence was estimated using a cross-sectional approach for a sample of employees and their families aged ≥ 18 years old, in a Saudi university (Riyadh in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; KSA). WHO STEPwise standardized tools were used to estimate NCD risk factors and the Framingham Coronary Heart Risk Score calculator was used to calculate the CVR.

Results

Five thousand and two hundred subjects were invited, of whom 4,500 participated in the study, providing a response rate of 87%. The mean age of participants was 39.3±13.4 years. The majority of participants reported low fruit/vegetables consumption (88%), and physically inactive (77%). More than two thirds of the cohort was found to be either overweight or obese (72%), where 36% were obese, and 59% had abdominal obesity. Of the total cohort, 22–37% were found to suffer from dyslipidaemia, 22% either diabetes or hypertension, with rather low reported current tobacco use (12%). One quarter of participants was estimated to have >10% risk to develop cardiovascular disease within the following 10-years.

Conclusion

The prevalence of NCD risk factors was found to be substantially high among the university employees and their families in this study.

Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factor Profiling of Group C Employees in JIPMER, Puducherry

Background:

Settings-based approach for health promotion includes conducting risk factor surveillance as one of its component. It was aimed to estimate the prevalence of CVD risk factors among group C employees of tertiary care hospital in south India.

Materials and Methods:

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 400 group C employees aged ≥20 years using the WHO “STEPwise approach to surveillance of non-communicable diseases” (STEPS) methodology. Standardized international protocols were used to measure behavioral risk factors (smoking, alcohol consumption, fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity) and physical characteristics (weight, waist and hip circumferences, height, and blood pressure). Multivariate analysis was done to predict the factors, which carry independent risk of hypertension. Risk factor profiling of the staff was done using WHO/ISH risk prediction chart to calculate the 10-year risk of a fatal or non-fatal major cardiovascular events (myocardial infarction or stroke), according to age, gender, blood pressure, smoking status, and presence or absence of diabetes mellitus.

Results:

Mean age in years was 40.9 (±10.4), and men constituted 81.3% of study population. Prevalence of major cardiovascular risk factors was as follows: Current smokers 12.3% men, regular alcohol intake 33.2% among men, overweight (≥23 kg/m²) 74.5%, central obesity 78.7%, hypertension 38.8%, and history of diabetes mellitus 13.2%. Age, gender, physical inactivity, obesity, and family history of hypertension were found to be independently associated with hypertension. Four percent participants had a >10% risk of developing CVD in next 10 years.

Conclusion:

The prevalence of CVD risk factors is high in the sample population. Employee wellness program should be started in the institute to combat the burden of cardiovascular diseases.