Workers under age 55 who have heart disease are eight times more likely to experience reduced productivity or the ability to do ones job than workers without heart disease, the report says. Workers in this age group who have diabetes or arthritis are six and four times more likely, respectively, to report work limitations. In addition, the report found absenteeism due to health-related causes annually results in at least $65 billion in lost wages.

"This report marks the first time weve been able to evaluate the health of the U.S. workforce, and the results are not as good as wed hoped," says Dr. Edward A. Emmett, director of occupational medicine academic programs at the University of Pennsylvania.

"This information is truly a call to action. Clearly, there is a need for better diagnosis and treatment in order to extend productive life-years, maximize continued employment and also decrease healthcare expenditures associated with medical complications."

According to the report, the presence in the workforce of undiagnosed and uncontrolled chronic conditions greatly increases the risk of serious illness.

"As many as 90,000 heart attacks and vascular events among workers each year in the U.S. may be due to elevated blood pressure and cholesterol," says Robin Hertz, senior director of outcomes research at Pfizer Inc., which conducted the study and prepared the report.

"Smoking, another major risk factor, may be associated with as many as 74,000 cases of acute coronary events per year in the workforce," she adds.

Some of the other findings presented in The Health Status of the United States Workforce include:

• An estimated 37 million American workers have high cholesterol. Sixty-seven percent of these people do not adequately control their high cholesterol. Forty-one percent of workers with high cholesterol dont even know they have it.
• An estimated 18 million workers have high blood pressure. Seventy-eight percent of these people do not adequately control their high blood pressure. Thirty-five percent of workers with high blood pressure don't even know about it.

• Men are less likely than women to be aware of their asymptomatic chronic conditions.
• Workers with arthritis are absent from work three times as often as workers without arthritis. Absenteeism is highest among workers age 35-44, the age group least likely to be treated with prescription medication for arthritis. Arthritis poses a three- to four-fold increased risk of diminished work productivity.

• Workers with migraine headaches are absent from work three times as often as workers without migraines. Workers under age 55 with migraines are twice as likely to be unable to do the amount or kind of work for which they are responsible or skilled as workers under 55 who don't have migraines.
• Eight percent of workers age 18-39 screen positive for major depression. Only 12 percent of these workers are treated with antidepressant medications.

This article appeared in the April/May 2001 issue of MRO Today magazine. Copyright, 2001.

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