Importing health conditions of expatriate workers into the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

There are around 3.5 million workers in the United Arab Emirates, more than 80% of whom are expatriates. Among offshore workers, levels of obesity reflected the relative prevalence of the condition in their home countries and exceeded their respective national averages. Levels of hypertension and diabetes in these groups were lower than the national averages, probably because of the healthy worker effect. The level of obesity probably reflected the sedentary nature of their jobs. The presence of hepatitis C antibodies was almost exclusive to Egyptian workers. In a downstream oil and gas business, the prevalence of obesity also reflected the prevalences in the respective home countries, increasing greatly in existing employees when compared with those attending for preemployment health evaluations. Increases in the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes were also found in this group. One possible explanation is the impact of the changed environment on underlying susceptibility to these conditions.