Occupation and metabolic syndrome: Is there correlation? A cross sectional study in different work activity occupations of German firefighters and office workers

The treatment and prevention of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) is currently one of the major challenges in medicine. The impact of working conditions on metabolic risk has not been adequately studied. Our objective was to compare the prevalence of MetS and metabolic risk in two extremely different occupational groups: firefighters and office workers. A total of 143 male subjects (97 firefighters and 46 office workers) from Germany participated in the study. Anthropometric characteristics, metabolic risk parameters as well as laboratory parameters were collected. MetS was diagnosed according to criteria of the International Diabetes Federation. Sedentary occupation showed a significant tendency towards obesity. Abdominal waist circumference was significantly greater in office workers than in firefighters [5.08 CI (1.44-8.71), p = 0.007]. Concerning metabolic risk factors, abnormal HDL, triglycerides, BMI, blood pressure and waist circumference values were more frequently found in office workers than in firefighters. The MetS was detected in almost 33 % of office workers as compared with only 14 % in firefighters (p = 0.015). Regarding MetS in an international comparison, the prevalence of MetS in German office workers was high and in firefighters it was extremely low. Sedentary occupation as an office worker is associated with a high risk of MetS. Both groups need to be made aware of the metabolic risks, and health promoting concepts such as corporate sports activities or education in healthy nutrition need to be implemented to counteract the development of the MetS and cardiovascular risk factors.Sin financiación2.347 JCR (2016) Q3, 92/138 Endocrinology and Metabolism1.006 SJR (2016) Q2, 77/244 Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, 43/144 Internal MedicineNo data IDR 2016UE

Right ventricle-pulmonary artery coupling in repaired tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary regurgitation: Clinical implications

Background. - Right ventricle-pulmonary artery (RV-PA) coupling is a strong prognostic marker in several clinical settings, but few studies have focused on its role in repaired tetralogy of Fallot (rToF) with pulmonary regurgitation.Aim. - To assess whether differences exist in RV-PA coupling, estimated by echocardiography, between patients with rToF and pulmonary regurgitation with or without an indication for pulmonary valve replacement (PVR).Methods. - The study population included 40 patients with rToF, who were allocated to two groups: 20 with an indication for PVR (i-PVR group); and 20 without an indication for PVR (ni-PVR group). Forty healthy controls were also included. All subjects underwent echocardiography, and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) was available in 27/40 patients with rToF. RV-PA coupling was assessed by echocardiographic tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion/pulmonary arterial systolic pressure (TAPSE/PASP) and right ventricular stroke volume/right ventricular end-systolic volume (RVSV/RVESV) by CMR.Results. - TAPSE was similar in the i-PVR and ni-PVR groups (19.0 +/- 3.4 vs 18.8 +/- 2.7 mm; P = 0.97) whereas RV-PA coupling was significantly worse in the i-PVR group versus the niPVR group (TAPSE/PASP 0.8 +/- 0.3 vs 1.1 +/- 0.5 mm/mmHg; P = 0.001), and in the i-PVR group versus the control group (P = 0.02); there was no difference between the ni-PVR and control groups (P = 0.29). CMR data confirmed the echocardiography results, with a significant difference in RV-PA coupling between the i-PVR and ni-PVR groups (RVSV/RVESV 0.9 +/- 0.2 vs 1.2 +/- 0.3 mL/min/mL; P = 0.01).Conclusions. - This study demonstrates worse RV-PA coupling, despite normal RV systolic function, in patients with rToF with an indication for PVR. RV-PA coupling could be a sensitive marker of a progressive maladaptive RV response to long-standing volume overload in rToF before the onset of clinical symptoms and RV systolic dysfunction. (C) 2022 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved