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Review
. 2023 May 20;13(5):861.
doi: 10.3390/jpm13050861.

The Magnitude of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Seafarers from 1994 to 2021: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Getu Gamo Sagaro  1   2 , Ulrico Angeloni  3 , Claudia Marotta  3 , Giulio Nittari  1 , Giovanni Rezza  3 , Andrea Silenzi  3 , Gopi Battineni  1 , Francesco Amenta  1   4
Affiliations
Review

The Magnitude of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Seafarers from 1994 to 2021: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Getu Gamo Sagaro et al. J Pers Med. .

Abstract

Objectives: The incidence of acute cardiac events is one of the main reasons for medical consultation, disembarkation, repatriation, and death among seafarers at sea. Managing cardiovascular risk factors, particularly those that can be modified, is the key to preventing cardiovascular disease. Therefore, this review estimates the pooled prevalence of major CVD risk factors among seafarers.

Methods: We conducted a comprehensive search of studies published between 1994 and December 2021 in four international databases, namely PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Web of Science (WOS). Each study was evaluated for methodological quality using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal tool for prevalence studies. The DerSimonian-Laird random-effects model with logit transformations was used to estimate the pooled prevalence of major CVD risk factors. The results were reported in accordance with the Preferred Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines.

Results: Out of all 1484 studies reviewed, 21 studies with 145,913 study participants met the eligibility criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. In the pooled analysis, the prevalence of smoking was found to be 40.14% (95% CI: 34.29 to 46.29%) with heterogeneity between studies (I2 = 98%, p < 0.01). The prevalence of hypertension, overweight, obesity, diabetes mellitus, and alcohol consumption was 45.32%, 41.67%, 18.60%, 12.70%, and 38.58%, respectively. However, the sensitivity analysis after excluding studies showed a pooled prevalence of hypertension, overweight, obesity, and diabetes mellitus of 44.86%, 41.87%, 15.99%, and 16.84%, respectively. The subgroup analysis demonstrated that smoking prevalence among seafarers had decreased significantly after 2013.

Conclusion: This study demonstrated that CVD risk factors, particularly hypertension, overweight, smoking, alcohol consumption, and obesity, are prevalent among seafarers. These findings may serve as a guide for shipping companies and other responsible bodies in order to prevent CVD risk factors among seafarers. PROSPERO Registration: CRD42022300993.

Keywords: epidemiology; hypertension; obesity; overweight; prevalence; seafarers; ships; smoking.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A flow diagram showing the process of study searching, selection, and inclusion in the present systematic review and meta-analysis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A forest plot of the prevalence (%) of smoking among seafarers using a random-effects model.
Figure 3
Figure 3
A forest plot of the prevalence (%) of high blood pressure among seafarers using a random-effects model.
Figure 4
Figure 4
A forest plot of the prevalence (%) of overweight among seafarers using a random-effects model.
Figure 5
Figure 5
A forest plot of the prevalence (%) of obesity among seafarers using a random-effects model.
Figure 6
Figure 6
A forest plot of the prevalence (%) of diabetes mellitus among seafarers using a random-effects model.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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