O-058 the Evolution of 10-Year Risk to Fatal and Non-Fatal Cardiovascular Events in Belgium: Sector-Specific Evidence From 565.949 Occupational Health Examinations (2018 - 2022)

Introduction Metabolic and behavioral risks account for a substantial proportion of cardiovascular diseases in terms of years of life lost due to disability (YLD) and premature mortality (YLL). Time series from the early 1990s to 2019 show that cardiovascular risks decrease until 2016, but then start to rise again. As the latest harmonized data dates from 2019, it is unclear whether cardiovascular risk deteriorated further in recent years. Methods Data was collected during 565.949 medical examinations in 15.227 Belgian companies from 2018 to 2022. The WHO cardiovascular risk model was used to determine non-laboratory risk profiles based on 5 biological parameters (age, sex, systolic blood pressure, smoking status and body-mass index). Multilevel modeling with group-mean centering was used to analyze the data. Results Occupational sectors in which at least three quarter of employees display a cardiovascular risk below 5% are education, hospitality, and healthcare. The least favorable risk profiles were present in construction, logistics and metal industry. Risk profiles increased (2,1 to 8,6%) from 2018 until 2021, but decreased (-0,5 to -6,2%) in 2022 in all sectors. Only in education and hospitality risk profiles also decreased (-3,6 to -6,6 %) in 2020. Discussion Both the generic decrease in risk in 2022 as well as the 2020 decrease in the education and hospitality sector may be linked to different waves during the Covid-19 pandemic. Future research should examine the drivers behind the inverted U-shaped evolution in cardiovascular risk. Conclusion In Belgium, cardiovascular risk increased from 2018 to 2021, but decreased in 2022 in all occupational sectors.