Key result
African American health employees linked to ~54% lower odds of pursuing follow-up CVD screening.
Why the study?
Cardiovascular disease risk awareness needed evaluation across a racially and ethnically diverse cohort of health system employees.
Are there racial and ethnic differences in awareness and prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and willingness to pursue follow-up screening among health system employees?
Cross-Sectional (n=759)
Are there racial and ethnic differences in awareness and prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and willingness to pursue follow-up screening among health system employees?
Effect estimate: OR 0.46 (95% CI 0.24-0.91)
p-value: p=0.025
African American health system employees reported higher rates of hypertension and diabetes but were significantly less likely to pursue follow-up cardiovascular screening, highlighting a need for customized health promotion strategies.
May signal barriers for African American employees; cross-sectional data leave intervention effects open.
Purpose To evaluate awareness about cardiovascular (CVD) risk among a racially and ethnically diverse cohort of health system employees. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Voluntary survey of health system employees during an annual CVD awareness and screening event. Subjects 759 health system employees. Measures We performed initial CVD screening measurements (blood pressure, body mass index) and collected patient-reported answers to questions about their own CVD risk factors (hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, overweight, smoking, physical inactivity and family history of CVD) and whether or not they believed that CVD is preventable. Subjects were offered in-depth follow-up CVD screening (lipid panel, hs-CRP, hemoglobin A1c), if interested. Analysis Continuous measures were compared across sex and racial/ethnic subsets using a t test and analysis of variance technique. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the employee’s willingness to undergo further comprehensive screening. Results African American, Hispanic, and Asian employees were younger than white employees ( P < .0001). More than one-quarter of African Americans reported a history of hypertension, a higher rate than for other subgroups ( P = .001). The rate of self-reported diabetes was highest in African American and Asian employees ( P = .001). African Americans had a 54% reduced odds of electing to pursue follow-up CVD screening (odds ratio: .46, 95% confidence interval = .24−.91, P = .025). Conclusion Presence of CVD risk factors and knowledge of their importance differ among racial and ethnic groups of health system employees in our cohort as does interest in pursuing follow-up screening once risk factors are identified. Development of evidence-based customization strategies by racial and ethnic group may improve understanding of and interest in CVD risk factors and advance prevention. The data from this study will inform future research and strategies for employee health promotion.
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Makaryus et al. (2023) conducted a cross-sectional in Cardiovascular risk (n=759). African American race vs. Other racial/ethnic groups was evaluated on Electing to pursue follow-up CVD screening (OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.24-0.91, p=0.025). African American health system employees had a 54% reduced odds of electing to pursue follow-up cardiovascular screening (OR 0.46; 95% CI 0.24-0.91; P=0.025).
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