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Coronary risks among seafarers aboard German-flagged ships

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Abstract

Objectives

Cardiovascular diseases belong to the major causes of maritime service disablement (approximately 18%). The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of coronary risk factors in seamen on vessels sailing under the German flag and to assess the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) dependent on job-related factors.

Methods

Within a medical surveillance program, a cross-sectional study with interview, blood sampling, and blood pressure measurements was conducted among a total of 205 male seafarers sailing under the German flag (response 84.9%). Due to missing blood analysis, 13 seamen were excluded. The predicted 10-year risk of an acute coronary event of a study subgroup of 45 German seafarers was compared to the corresponding risk of a sample of the German working population (PROCAM study).

Results

In the total sample (n = 161), 55 seamen (34.2%) had at least three CHD risk factors. The most prominent independent CHD risk factors in seafarers were hypertension (49.7%), high triglycerides (41.6%), older age (39.8%), and smoking (37.3%). Compared with non-Europeans, European seafarers were about twice as likely to have more than three risk factors after adjusting for age [OR 2.4 (95% CI 1.01–4.55)]. Particularly engine room officers and galley/operating staff were at a higher coronary risk. After standardizing for age, the German seamen investigated showed a similar predicted 10-year CHD risk as the German population of about the same age working ashore of the PROCAM study.

Conclusions

The CHD risks in seafarers should be reduced by low-fat diets, anti-smoking campaigns and blood pressure control/treatment. In spite of the seafarers’ regular medical surveillance examination, their CHD risk was comparable to a reference population working ashore. Our results support the hypothesis that working on vessels may augment the risk of CHD.

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Fig. 1

Notes

  1. Security at sea. Hamburg. 1990–2004. http://www.see-bg.de/schiffssicherheit/formulare/.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank all seamen who participated in our study. Furthermore, we would like to thank Dr. B. F. Schepers, M. Böckmann-Friedrich and U. Brettmann of the statutory accident insurance institution for seafaring (“See-BG”) for their great on-the-spot support. In addition, the authors express their gratitude to D. Johannsen and E. Nern of the Clinical Department of the Institute for Occupational and Maritime Medicine (ZfAM) for their active support during this study. Furthermore, we thank CNSystems in Friedberg, Germany, to put their MEDX5 Check-Up at our disposal for continuous measurements of blood pressure and HRV.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Occupational and Maritime Medicine (ZfAM), University of Hamburg, Hamburg State Department for Social Affairs, Family, Health and Consumer Protection, Hamburg, Germany

    Marcus Oldenburg, Hans-Joachim Jensen, Ute Latza & Xaver Baur

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  1. Marcus Oldenburg
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  2. Hans-Joachim Jensen
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  3. Ute Latza
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  4. Xaver Baur
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Correspondence to Marcus Oldenburg.

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Oldenburg, M., Jensen, HJ., Latza, U. et al. Coronary risks among seafarers aboard German-flagged ships. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 81, 735–741 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-007-0261-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-007-0261-5

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