Dyslipidaemia, carbohydrate metabolism disorders and arterial hypertension detected in academic employees during examinations in occupational medicine

Introduction: Many people have CVD risk factors without realising it and it is important to recognise the risk factors as soon as possible. Periodic examinations are a mandatory form of control for all employes in Poland. They provide an excellent opportunity to screen for the most common civilization diseases in the population. Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of dyslipidaemia, hyperglycaemia and hypertension among academics in a Polish university, and to compare the results between postdoctoral fellows and other academics. Material and methods: The study group were postdoctoral fellows (HAB; N=135, 53 females) and other academics (NHAB; N=286, 179 females) over the age of 40 who reported for a periodic occupational medical check-up. Fasting blood samples were drawn, serum glucose, lipids and blood pressure (BP) were measured. Results: The mean age was 56.7 (SD 9.8) in HAB and 49.8 (SD 8.1) in NHAB. Mean systolic BP and glycaemia were significantly higher in male HAB group than male NHAB (135.8 vs 130.9 mmHg and 6.0 vs 5.6 mmol/l, respectively). The relationship in females was non-significant. The age-adjusted odds ratios (OR [95% CI]) of having elevated low density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, glucose and blood pressure in male HAB vs male NHAB were 0.61 [0.32. 1.16], 0.64 [0.33, 1.23], 1.52 [0.80, 2.88] and 2.11 [0.88, 5.23], and in female HAB vs female NHAB – 0.59 [0.31, 1.12], 0.64 [0.32, 1.26], 0.87 [0.40, 1.79] and 1.86 [0.70, 4.68], respectively. Conclusions: Adequately planned occupational medicine examinations provide an opportunity to diagnose dyslipidaemia, hyperglycaemia, or high BP in all groups of employees, including highly educated academics.