Cardiovascular Risk Profile of Apparently Healthy Workers in a Tertiary Hospital in Nigeria

Background: Cardiovascular disease incidence is rising in Nigeria. This study was done to identify cardiovascular risk factors and assess the ۱۰-year cardiovascular risk score of healthcare workers of a tertiary hospital in south-western Nigeria. Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, apparently healthy workers of a tertiary hospital in Nigeria were studied. Fifty-two individuals were recruited into the study. Anthropometric measures, blood pressure, fasting lipid profile and HbA۱c were obtained using the standard protocols. QRISK۳ score was also calculated. Results: The Mean±SD age of participants was ۴۴.۹±۸.۱ years. Dyslipidaemia was the most common risk factor among apparently healthy healthcare workers, while glucose intolerance was the least common. Also, ۴۸.۱% of the subjects had at least one cardiovascular risk factor and ۱۵.۴% had ۳ or more cardiovascular risk factors. The ۱۰-year cardiovascular risk using QRISK۳ was moderate in ۳.۸%. There was no statistically significant difference in the ۱۰-year cardiovascular risk score between the clinical and non-clinical healthcare workers (P=۰.۳۱۳; t=۰.۸۱۹). However, male participants had a significantly higher ۱۰-year cardiovascular risk score compared with the females (۳.۵۰ vs. ۱.۵۶; P<۰.۰۰۱; t=۳.۷۴۱). Conclusion: Cardiovascular risk factors are prevalent among health workers and closer attention needs to be paid to these factors by the hospital management to mitigate cardiovascular disease among the staff.