Relationship between working conditions and incidence of Arterial Hypertension in ethylene production workers
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Department of General Medicine, Medical University, Pleven, Bulgaria
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Faculty of Medicine, Medical University, Pleven, Bulgaria
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Department of Hygiene, Medical Ecology, Occupational Diseases and Disaster Medicine, Medical University of Pleven, Pleven, Bulgaria
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Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Medical University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria
Publication date: 2023-04-27
Popul. Med. 2023;5(Supplement):A1751
ABSTRACT
Background and Objective: Occupational safety and health management provides a comprehensive framework for public health leadership. Ethylene belongs to the unsaturated hydrocarbons (UH) and is the most important starting substance in chemical industry. Almost a third of all organic products are obtained from it, used to obtain polyethylene (50%), ethylene oxide (20%), vinyl chloride (15%), styrene (5%), also ethanol, acetaldehyde, freons, vinyl acetate, propanoic acid. As substances with a narcotic effect UH, have toxic effect on the cardiovascular system. THE Objective of the study was to monitor the health status of workers in ethylene production. Methods: Periodic prophylactic screening of workers in the chemical industry is a condition for early diagnosis of pathological deviations related to the impact of the working environment. 73 ethylene production workers (51 men, 22 women) were studied, distributed according to the degree of their occupational risk, age, gender. The control group is 51 persons without professional contact with chemical substances. Results: Elevated blood pressure was found in 32.2% of exposed workers and 14.5% of controls. The exposure-effect and exposure-response relationships between the degree of professional exposure and the incidence of arterial hypertension are manifested. The disease is recognized with an increase in age and specialization of work experience. There is а significant difference between female workers with more than 10 years of work experience (44.4%) compared to controls (17.2%). Data from study that has been carried out has shown that there is an increased risk. Conclusions: Unsaturated hydrocarbons contained in the air of the working environment are a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular pathology. There should be widespread use of disease management programs for chemical workers to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and equity of care. The management of health and safety at work provide an overarching framework for the management of public health.