New research in Latvia shows workers are failing to accurately assess the state of their own health. Examining the effect of the corporate environment on health, a survey found that 88% of workers said they felt well even though the majority had medical complaints. While managers work longer hours and report higher levels of stress, non-managers are more likely to have sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy diets, and so have a higher risk of heart and circulatory disease.
About the research
New research questions how good Latvian workers are at assessing their own health. A report, Comparison of Heart and Blood-Vessel Risk Factors for Managers and Ordinary Employees (in Latvian, 867Kb PDF), presents the findings of a survey carried out to assess how the corporate environment affects an employee’s general state of health, to what degree the corporate environment is a risk factor in heart and blood vessel diseases, and the significance of prophylactic medicine in the corporate environment.
The research was carried out by the Premium Medical Clinic and the Department of Internal Disease at Riga Stradiņš University, in cooperation with the Latvian Association of Personnel Management (LPVA).
Methodology
The research method was a cross-sectional survey of a corporate environment between July 2011 and December 2011. The study was conducted through face-to-face interviews with respondents using a questionnaire. It analysed factors including workload, the self-assessment of psycho-emotional stress levels, self-assessment of general health, the frequency of visits to a doctor, levels of physical activity, eating habits, and a patient’s medical history.
Measurements were also taken of blood pressure, height, weight, waistline, body mass, electrocardiogram results and pulse rate. A biochemical analysis of a blood sample was also taken. The data were analysed to determine deviations from the norm.
Cardiovascular risk was assessed according to the European cardiovascular disease risk assessment model, the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE), and results were submitted to statistical analysis.
For data which were not normally distributed, the median was selected as the central trend indicator, and interquantile spread was selected as the dispersion indicator (if p(95%)≤0.05, differences between groups are statistically significant).
A total of 392 people took part in the survey – 196 managers and 196 ‘ordinary’ employees between the ages of 40 and 65; 53% were women, and 47% men. Of those questioned, 26.8% of respondents had a baccalaureate degree, and 46.4% had a masters degree.
Workload
Statistics indicated that managers worked on average one hour longer than other employees. On average, managers worked nine hours per day – plus or minus two hours – while other employees worked eight hours, plus or minus an hour. A total of 36.22% respondents admitted that they regularly (more than three days per week) thought about work, performed work-related tasks, or carried out official or unofficial duties outside working hours.
Assessment of stress levels
During the survey, participants were asked to rate their work-related levels of psycho-emotional stress on a visual analogue scale of 0 to 10 with ‘0’ indicating no psycho-emotional stress, and ‘10’ indicating extremely high levels of stress. Managers, on average, rated work-related stress one point higher than other employees. The managers averaged seven points – plus or minus three points. Non-managerial employees averaged six points, plus or minus three points. The survey showed 21% of respondents reduced stress by using alcohol or by smoking.
General health
During the survey, participants were asked to assess their state of health by using the visual analogue scale from 0 to 10 points with ‘0’ indicating the worst imaginable state of health, and ‘10’ the best. Respondents on average rated their health at seven points, plus or minus one point. There was no statistically significant difference between the assessments of managers and ordinary employees.
When asked ‘Do you feel well right now?’, 88% of respondents said ‘yes’.
However, in response to a separate question about their state of health, 93% of participants reported medical complaints affecting a specific part of the body. The findings showed 62% of complaints were neurological – such as a headache or backache – 48% were cardiological, 26% were traumatological, and 26% were gastroenterological. The findings also showed that in 78% of cases several parts of the body were involved.
Most respondents (38.27%) visited a doctor once a year, with 80% saying they only visited a doctor when they had a specific complaint.
Lifestyle
A sedentary lifestyle appeared to be a problem for both groups, but according to statistics, ‘ordinary’ employees spent more time sitting down than managers. Managers said they sat for eight hours (plus or minus three hours) per day, while non-managers sat down for nine hours (plus or minus three hours). The figures include sedentary time at work and at home, as well as travelling on public transport or in a car. Ordinary employees were more likely to use convenience foods (21%) and less likely to eat well, and 24% of employees reported that they did not eat balanced meals.
Medical history and measurements
A total of 28.83% of respondents reported a heart or blood-vessel disease in their medical history. Only 37% of respondents had normal blood pressure. The majority of participants – 68.37% – had elevated cholesterol levels, 45% had a normal body mass index, and 18.62% had normal electrocardiogram readings.
Commentary
The study shows that non-management employees need to be more informed about risk factors such as leading a sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy food and harmful habits. They need more education on the impact of the risk factors on heart and blood vessel diseases. The study also showed that managers were well aware of these factors, and the main problem for them was a heavy work load.
Reference
Klīnika Premium Medical (2012), Comparison of Heart and Blood-Vessel Risk Factors for Managers and Ordinary Employees, Riga, abridged version available at http://premiummedical.lv/petijuma_atskaite.pdf
Linda Romele, EPC, Ltd.