Occupation and education in relation to risk factors of ischaemic heart disease in the male industrial population.

In a sample of 3,757 men aged 40-50 years, all employees of a large industrial plant, the authors studied the prevalence of several risk factors (RF) of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) in relationship to profession and education of probands. Blue collar workers were more frequently heavy smokers and regular alcohol consumers than white collars. Compared with other workmen professions a tendency towards a higher risk profile was present in employees doing strenuous manual work. These were heavier smokers, had higher blood pressure and serum cholesterol. Within white-collar professions a higher risk profile was observed in managers with high responsibility than in personnel of the research and development departments. The former were heavier smokers, had higher serum cholesterol and greater overweight. The education level was in indirect association with smoking, hypertension and obesity but correlated directly with regular alcohol consumption. Socio-economic factors evidently influence the prevalence of risk factors of IHD also in the Czech industrial population.

Incidence and risk of coronary heart disease in an industrial population. A five-year prospective study.

In a large machinery factory a cohort of 3754 men aged between 40 and 50 years have been studied for 5 years. Total and coronary mortality rates have been determined and also the incidence of certain non-fatal states which required hospitalization due to various types of coronary heart disease (CHD), hypertension, brain apoplexy, diabetes mellitus and malignancies. Among the subjects exposed to CHD risk factors (RF), i.e. among smokers, hypertensive and hypercholesterolemic subjects, and among those who had a positive coronary family history and a positive cardiovascular (chest pain) questionnaire, both total and coronary mortality rates were several fold higher and they increased almost exponentially with increasing numbers of RF. Among the RF it was the cardiovascular (chest pain) questionnaire which had the highest prognostic value. Workmen manifested a higher total and coronary mortality than did the employees in the technico-economical professions (TEP). The highest mortality rate was found among the workmen employed in heavy manual occupation. In contrast the lowest total coronary mortality rate was observed in the TEP having little responsibility in their vocation and also among qualified workmen and specialized technical and scientifical workers.

Latent ischaemic heart disease among the male employees of an industrial enterprise.

Among 3758 men aged 40-50 years--employees of an industrial enterprise, 291 cases of suspected myocardial ischaemia (7.7%) were detected by means of resting ECG. Further 311 cases (8.3%) of latent ischaemic heart disease (IHD) were detected using a standard cardiovascular questionnaire, and 47 other men were positive both on resting ECG (ischaemic changes) and on the questionnaire. Latent IHD was equally frequent among blue and white collar workers. Ischaemic ECG findings were positively associated with a positive questionnaire, presence of hypertension, and hypertension or stroke in family history, and inversely with the alcohol consumption. No relation was found between ischaemic ECG and smoking, hypercholesterolaemia, obesity, education, and physical activity at work or during leisure time. Positive questionnaire data correlated with hypercholesterolaemia; unexpectedly this correlation was closer among non-smokers and moderate smokers than among heavy smokers.