Occupational stress and the risks of cardiovascular diseases development in chemical industry workers

Introduction. The article examines the impact of occupational stress on the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (CVD) among workers in chemical production. The study covers two groups of employees from chemical industry enterprises with different levels of process automation — ethylbenzene-styrene (EBS) and ethylene-propylene (EP) production. The purpose — to investigate the effect of occupational stress on the development of cardiovascular diseases among workers in specific chemical industries and to develop a set of preventive measures aimed at reducing cardiovascular risk. Materials and methods. The study included an analysis of working conditions, the psychophysiological state of employees using standardized questionnaires (“DORS,” HADS, Reeder), as well as results from periodic medical examinations. Results. Operators of ethylene-propylene (EP) production, working in conditions of more pronounced exposure to harmful production factors (class of working conditions 3.2), have a higher level of anxiety, stress and fatigue, compared to operators of ethylbenzene-styrene (EBS) (class of working conditions 3.1). The operators of the EP production showed a higher prevalence of arterial hypertension (34.3% versus 27.2% among the automation center workers working under the acceptable class of working conditions), as well as a significant prevalence of subclinical anxiety (37.9% versus 21.7% among the automation center workers). The analysis of risk factors according to the SCORE scale showed a higher cardiovascular risk among the workers of this production. Limitations include the lack of consideration of individual risk factors among workers and the subjectivity of stress assessment methods. Conclusion. Based on the study results, a set of preventive measures was developed to reduce the negative impact of occupational stress on workers. The proposed measures should be incorporated into the corporate program and focus on optimizing working conditions, training in stress management techniques, and health monitoring.