The effect of physical work constraints on cardiovascular disease in women. Health and Professional Route Survey, waves 2006 and 2010.

Summary In France, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in women. The role of the occupational environment in the development of these diseases is poorly documented. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of exposure to physical work constraints on the declaration of CVD in women. Material and method - Using data from the Health and Professional Itinerary Survey (SIP), which provides detailed information on individuals' working conditions, health status, and career, we used indicators relating to night work, repetitiveness, physical load, and exposure to toxic substances, reported in 2006. We then used a combined indicator accounting for exposures over the entire career. Binomial logit modelling was performed on 2,780 women and 2,633 men employed in 2006, in order to analyse the prevalence of CVD declared in 2010 and occurring after 2006. To control for confounding factors, individual characteristics in 2006 (age, occupation and socio-professional category, marital status, working hours, smoking and alcohol consumption, body mass index), past characteristics (level of education and health), and employment status in 2010 were controlled. Results- Among women, an association between exposure to harmful products (OR=2.36) and to at least two physical constraints (OR=1.98) and the declaration of CVD was demonstrated, as well as an association between exposure to toxic products and arterial hypertension (AH) (OR=1.84). The combined career indicator was significantly associated with higher reporting of CVD (OR=1.54) and hypertension (OR=1.53). Except for demanding work (OR=1.35), we did not find a significant response to physical constraints in men. Conclusion- This result calls for cardiovascular risk prevention that specifically takes women into account and integrates the actors of the professional environment.