Improving cardiovascular health in Spanish seafarers

Abstract

Background and aim: There is a high prevalence in the Spanish general population of some cardiovascular risk factors like overweight, obesity and hypercholesterolaemia. But there is lack of research on Spanish seafarers. On the other hand, there is strong evidence of the cardiovascular risk predictive value of some biomarkers. The purpose of this work was to study the convenience of the introduction of detailed diet questionnaires and the measurement of some biomarkers in the pre-embarkation medical examination.

Materials and methods: Seafarers undergoing medical checkup during 2011 in Madrid, Spain (n = 334). Overweight and obese subjects received general advice on healthy diet and physical activity. Seventy-four of them were followed up in 2012 and 2013. Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), thyrotropin (TSH) and microalbuminuria were measured in two selected groups of patients in 2011.

Results: Overweight and obesity were present in 207 (62%) individuals of the studied population. Those followed up in 2012 and 2013 showed a reduction of body mass index, waist circumference and total cholesterol values. We observed risk value of HbA_1c in 60 (35.5%) individuals with significant association to other cardiovascular risk factors. Microalbuminuria appeared in subjects with high blood pressure. High TSH and hs-CRP were not significantly present in our population.

Conclusions: 1. Measurement of HbA1c during medical checkups improves early detection of cardiovascular risk in seafarers. 2. Individuals with overweight and obesity responded positively to medical advice and diminished their risk factors, thus it may be more effective to introduce detailed questionnaires on this issue.