Health Indicators among Young Adult Workers

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Health Indicators among Young Adult Workers

• Alberto Caban-Martinez, MPH, CPH
• Presenting for the University of Miami Miller
  School of Medicine
• Occupational Research Group

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Health Indictors Youth Workers

• Health risk describes behaviors and health
  indicators with potentially negative effects on
  health (e.g. substance use, risky drinking, and
  eating disorders)
• Document major health indicators during a life
  stage
• identifying and prevent deleterious health
  conditions.
• Youth who work may be at risk for negative health
  risks.

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Objective

• Few studies of large population-based US health
  studies of young adult workers.
• We examine the relationship between occupation
  type and major health indicators among a
  nationally representative sample of young adult
  workers.

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Methods

• National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)
• NHIS years 1997 to 2004
• NHIS Cancer Supplement Year 2000 Dietary Recall
• Employed respondents 18-24 years old
• Grouped into 13 major occupational groups
• Self-reported data on health behaviors and
  conditions examined
• Stratification by Gender, Race, and Ethnicity

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Methods (Cont)

• Health Indictors Examined
• Smoking
• Risky drinking
• Obesity (BMI 30.0 kg/m2)
• Leisure-Time Physical Activity (LTPA)
• Fruit consumption
• French Fry Consumption

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Results

• For all employed workers
• Males highest drinking (10.2), smoking (30.8),
  and lowest levels of meeting US dietary
  guidelines on fruit consumption (91.3)
• Black Youth Workers had lowest LTPA (67.5) and
  the greatest obesity levels (22.9).

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Results (Cont)

• Occupation specific findings
• Transportation/material moving occupations
  reported greater risky drinking (13.5), while
  those in protective service occupations reported
  the least risky drinking (3.7)
• Smoking rates were highest among precision
  production, craft, and repair workers (39.7) but
  lowest among professional specialty workers
  (15.5)
• Youth workers employed as machine operators,
  assemblers, inspectors reported higher levels of
  not meeting LTPA guidelines (68.7) as compared
  to protective service occupation workers (37.3)

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Results (Cont)

• Occupation specific findings
• Technicians and related support occupations met
  the criteria on US dietary guidelines for fruit
  consumption (85.4) more frequently than those
  employed in transportation and material moving
  occupations (95.6)
• Hispanic Technicians and related occupations
  (85.4) and Black Protective Youth Workers
  (91.2) consume three or more servings of French
  fries per week!!

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Conclusions

• We found the prevalence of health indicators
  among youth worker groups to parallel that of the
  US leading contributors to death
• Male and female protective service occupation
  youth workers and Hispanic technicians and
  related support occupations reported the highest
  rates of obesity and French fry consumption

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Conclusions

• We found the prevalence of health indicators
  among youth worker groups to parallel that of the
  US leading contributors to death
• Worksites provide ready access to 65 of the
  population aged gt18 years
• Variability in the measures of health indicators
  by occupation type
• Policies to reduce negative health indicators may
  require different targeted workplace strategies

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• Contact Information
• UMs Occupational Research Group
• Alberto Caban-Martinez
• Email acaban_at_med.miami.edu
• Phone [phone]