Abnormalities of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism in population of female intellectual workers

The aim of the study was to investigate the frequency of lipid and glucose metabolism abnormalities in an organized population of women engaged in intellectual labor. A total of 483 female secondary school teachers aged 35-64 years (mean age: 49.3±7.8 years) living in Tomsk were surveyed at the workplace in a framework of cardiological screening with response rate of 84%. High prevalence of lipid and glucose metabolism abnormalities was found in the study population. The average levels of total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol were significantly higher than the currently recommended levels. One of five teachers (20.1%) had low HDL cholesterol and one of four teachers (24.9%) had elevated triglycerides levels. The frequencies of hyperglycemia were 38.1 and 24.1%, respectively, as defined by cut-off points of fasting plasma glucose ≥5.6 and ≥6.1 mmol/L. During the cardiac screening at the work place, six new cases of diabetes were detected via the HbA1c testing. Increasingly unfavorable epidemiological situation was found among female teachers in the 55-64-year-old group.