significantly associated with the prediction of four out of five
of the conditions (arthritis, chronic pain, diabetes, and heart
disease) with odds ratios ranging from 1.607 for chronic pain to
13.191 for diabetes, after controlling for age and gender.
Figure 1 shows the costs (health care, pharmacy, and STD)
for each of four groups in 2006: those without MetS or any of the
five associated diseases; those with MetS but no disease; those
without MetS but with a disease; and those with both MetS and
a disease.
The average cost increases from a baseline of $1600 for
employees without MetS and without any of the five diseases
included here (arthritis, chronic pain, diabetes, heartburn, or
heart disease). The next group of employees, those with MetS but
none of the diseases, had an average cost of $2037. Those
without MetS but at least one of the five diseases had an average
cost of $4113 which was significantly higher than the previous
two groups. Finally, those with both MetS and at least one of
the diseases had the highest costs of $5857 which was significantly higher than the other three groups. This figure shows
the high costs associated with disease among employed
individuals.
The next analysis repeated the previous figure but limited the
diseases to just diabetes and heart disease. Results are similar to
the results found in Figure 1 with the highest costs occurring in
the last two groups: those without MetS but who have diabetes
or heart disease, and those with both MetS and at least one of
those diseases (Fig. 2).
Discussion
The prevalence of MetS in this employed population is slightly
higher than the prevalence found in nationally representative
studies reporting rates of 23% to 25% [27,28]. Nevertheless, our
study uses the most recent definitions of MetS which include
people taking medication for glucose, triglycerides, HDL, and/or
hypertension. The prevalence of MetS in this two-time participant
population increased significantly from 2004 to 2006. The
authors of another study of the NHANES data sets from 1988 to
1994, and from 1999 to 2000 have also indicated that rates of
MetS are increasing in the United States [30].
As in other studies [27,28], employees who met the criteria
for MetS were significantly older and more likely to be male than
those without MetS. Other demographic differences in education
level, income, marital status, and ethnicity were not significant
after controlling for age and gender.
The main topic of this study was the relationship between
MetS and disease in a working population. Those with MetS in
2004 were significantly more likely to report having arthritis,
chronic pain, diabetes, heartburn, heart disease, and stroke in
2004 compared to those without MetS, after controlling for age
and gender differences. Diabetes and heart disease are obviously
associated, given the overlap between the risk factors for MetS
and those for these two conditions. There is also evidence in the
literature that chronic pain conditions are associated with MetS.
In one study, fibromyalgia was associated with larger waist circumference, higher glycosylated hemoglobin and triglyceride
levels, and higher blood pressure [18]. The association found
with heartburn and MetS may simply be an effect of the strong
association between obesity and heartburn. The association with
stroke has not been noted in the literature, but given the similar
risk factors for heart disease and stroke, it is not surprising that
a relationship with MetS would be identified. The very small
prevalence of stroke in this working population limits the generalizability
of these results, however.
Employees with MetS in 2004 were significantly more likely
to report new cases of arthritis, chronic pain, diabetes, and heart
disease, but not heartburn. To minimize the level of disease
among employees, organizations should address MetS and its
health risks. Rates of diagnosed diabetes are increasing in the
United States [31,32], and working populations are no exception.
Nevertheless, worksite health management programs have
been shown to be effective in helping “prediabetic” employees
reduce their risks to prevent full-blown diabetes even after 2
years of follow-up [33].
After examining these associations between MetS and
disease, it was appropriate to examine the associated costs
(health care, pharmacy, and STD). The cost of those with MetS
and disease were 3.66 times greater than those without MetS and
without disease. Results indicate that disease is certainly a significant
factor in determining the costs associated with MetS. All
of those with disease had higher costs than those without disease,
but those with both MetS and disease had the highest cost of any
group. What is most interesting to employers is the fact that
employees with MetS but who had not yet developed one of the
five health conditions had slightly higher costs, but they were not
yet significantly different from the employees without MetS and
without disease.
When the cost analysis was limited to just heart disease and
diabetes, those with MetS and disease had costs five times higher
than those without MetS and without disease, and four times
higher than those with MetS but who had not yet developed
diabetes or heart disease. Again, the encouraging finding for
organizations is that the majority (88%) of those with MetS in
this population had not yet developed diabetes or heart disease,
and 67% had not yet developed any of the five conditions studied
in Figure 1 (arthritis, chronic pain, diabetes, heartburn, or heart
disease). The largest opportunity is in helping these individuals
improve their risks so that those conditions are prevented.
There is an opportunity for health promotion to prevent the
MetS risk factors from progressing to disease status which may
improve vitality for employees, as well as limit the economic
impact to the corporation. An integrated approach to mitigating
the effects of health risks might include several components
[34–37].
• An HRA offered on a regular basis to measure employee
health;
• Analysis of the impact of health on work performance and
all other pertinent outcome measures such as absenteeism,
injuries, and health-care costs;
• Revision of policies and benefits to support work/life
balance;
• Targeted lifestyle and disease management programs to
mitigate risk factors and health conditions;
• Programs which help healthy employees stay healthy, such
as fitness centers
• Evaluation of the work environment and ergonomics;
• Ensuring that employee assistance program providers are
equipped to recognize and treat problems which impact
employee health and on-the-job productivity;
• Enlisting the help of a pharmacy benefit plan to help
manage and improve access to appropriate medication;
• Evaluating coverage for mental health benefits to ensure
that employees have adequate resources to deal with those
types of problems;
• Developing a work environment that discourages working
while ill;
• Applying current programs such as disability case management
and disease management to help employees with
medical conditions remain productive.
Employers should implement educational and screening programs
for their employees to prevent undiagnosed or misdiagnosed
illnesses which will allow employees to better manage their
medical conditions. The Wellness Council of America estimates
that an effective, comprehensive program can cost about $100 to
$150 per employee per year [38]. In addition to lower-cost educational
programs, it is also necessary for employers to spend
money on improving employee medical treatment to improve
workplace productivity.
Previous studies have found associations between MetS and
health conditions such as depression [39,40], and kidney disease
[41] which were not identified in the current analysis. Because of
the particular demographics of this working population (83%
men, with an average age of 40.8 years), it may be unlikely to
detect the association between MetS and depression which has
primarily been studied in female samples. For example, only
3.5% of the study population self-reported depression comparedto national statistics of major depression affecting 6.6% of the
adult US population in any 1 year [42]. Furthermore, because
this is a population of working adults rather than a patient
population, the rates of certain diseases such as kidney disease
would be small or nonexistent. This is likely because of the
healthy worker effect (HWE). The HWE most often is discussed
in mortality studies because actively employed individuals consistently
have a lower mortality rate than the general population
[43]. Nevertheless, it also applies to studies such as this which
examine disease and other health condition prevalence among
employed individuals [44–46].