Prevalence and risk of chronic diseases in medical personnel of mobile ambulance teams

Introduction: Medical workers of mobile ambulance teams (MATs) are at a high risk of exposure to harmful working conditions, leading to the development of chronic diseases (CDs).

Aim: To study the prevalence and risks of the development of CDs according to the results of a sociological survey among medical workers of MATs.

Materials and methods: The method used for the sociological research was based on a specially designed questionnaire using Google Forms electronic service. The survey was participated by 176 medical workers. The average age of the respondents was 40.58 ± 14.01 years, of which 143 were women and 33 were men.

Results:  Of the majority of the respondents (63.6%), 51.5% were 18–25 years old with working period <5 years, who had CDs; 89.5% were 51–60 years old, and 100% were ≥61 years old. The most common forms of CDs were diseases of the musculoskeletal system, digestive organs, respiratory organs, urogenital system, and circulatory system, and the prevalence ranged from 25.6 to 15.3 per 100 respondents. In the total cohort, 74.8% had chronic morbidity. The medical personnel of general ambulance teams had significantly higher relative risk (RR) of CDs (2.449 [95% confidence interval, CI 1.701–3.525]) than those of specialized ambulance teams. Gender and occupational differences in the development of musculoskeletal pathologies were found, with higher RRs among women (RR 4.510 [95% CI 1.155–17.610]) and medical personnel of MATs (RR 1.874 [95% CI 1.041–3.374]).

Conclusions: The prevalence of certain CDs among medical workers of MATs depends on the duration of contact with occupational factors, gender, and age of the workers.