Metabolic syndrome among operators using video display units in call centers

摘要

Objectives Reports about medical consequences from sedentary work are contradictory. They may be associatedrnwith the metabolic syndrome, a collection of cardiovascular risk factors including hypertension, dyslipidemia,rninsulin resistance, and central obesity. No data are currently available on workers using visual display unitsrn(VDU), a potential high-risk group, given the sedentariness inherent in this work.rnMethods The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was evaluated among 1547 VDU users with a mean age ofrn29.7 years and among a control group of 892 persons with a mean age of 30.2 years who performed nonsedentaryrnwork, selected on the basis of similar demographic data. A physical examination and laboratory tests useful forrnthe diagnosis of the metabolic syndrome were performed.rnResults The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 3.10% for the VDU users versus 2.01% for the controlsrn[odds ratio (OR) 2.048, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.169-3.587, P=0.012). Significance persisted afterrncontrol for confounding factors (eg, smoking and leisure-time activity) in a multivariate analysis (OR 1.555,rn95% CI 1.03- 2.690, P < 0.05).rnConclusions The metabolic syndrome should be carefully considered when health surveillance programs forrnVDU users are implemented.