Occupational Disparities in Cardiovascular Risk and Management in Contemporary China
- nationwide cross-sectional study
Authors' conclusion
Occupational context may provide a practical framework for identifying patterns of cardiovascular risk, management gaps, and prevention opportunities among China's working population. Despite lower observed disease burden, modern occupational sectors showed suboptimal risk-factor management, whereas simulated ASCVD risk reductions varied across occupations, highlighting distinct prevention needs and opportunities across occupational contexts.
Study context
- Population
- Employees aged 20 to 65 years who underwent health examinations at centers across China between 2021 and 2023employees at 167 centers across 24 provinces
- Participants
- 1,421,390 employees
- Exposure
- Eighteen occupations classified into primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Overall prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD)
1.33%
95% CI 1.29%–1.37%
North-south gradient, highest in the North and lowest in the South
P < 0.001
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Moderate-to-high 10-year ASCVD risk (aged ≥35 years without prior ASCVD)
- Moderate-to-high 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk (aged ≥35 years without prior ASCVD) — Overall
- 23.3%
CHD and cardiometabolic risk factors by occupation
- Lowest in modern service sectors, particularly "information transmission, software, and information technology"; highest in the secondary sector, especially "production and supply of electricity, heat power, gas and water"
Age- and sex-standardized treatment and control rates
- Hypertension treatment
- 29.5%
- Hypertension control
- 20.8%
- Diabetes treatment
- 36.6%
- Diabetes control
- 21.9%
- Hypercholesterolemia treatment
- 17.0%
- Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) control
- 9.5%
- Modern services had the lowest treatment rates for all 3 conditions and lowest control rates for hypertension and LDL-C
Simulated ASCVD risk reduction
- Substantial occupational variation in potential ASCVD risk reduction
Participant characteristics
- Mean age
- 33.8 years
- Male
- 53.4%
Original publication
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it