Prevalence of elevated blood pressure among locomotive workers according to the long-term assessment of pre-trip health screening

Abstract

Hypertension is considered as one of the leading cardiovascular diseases in transport workers.Aim. In the context of epidemiological prospective study, to assess the prevalence of elevated blood pressure (BP) detected at pre-trip health screening (PTHS).Material and methods. We analyzed records of the database of PTHS automatic system for 15 years (2006-2020) to reveal elevated systolic (140 mm Hg) and/or diastolic (90 mm Hg) BP.Results. For 15 years, the detection rate of systolic BP >140 mm Hg has decreased by 4 times. For diastolic BP, the detection rate of values >90 mm Hg decreased by 8 times. The detection rate of non-normal systolic BP among railway staff correlates with the detection rate of non-normal diastolic BP (r=0,92; p<0,05) on different railways. Over the 15-year period, the number of suspensions from the trip due to PTHS has decreased by 2 times, while the number of suspensions due to hypertension decreased by 2,5 times.Conclusion. The conducted study may indicate the effectiveness of primary and secondary prevention of hypertension among Russian Railways staff.