Working in an Auto Factory Is Risky Business
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iStock/Thinkstock(EAST LANSING, Mich.) — Working in a factory that manufactures automobiles can be a killer — literally.
Michigan State University researchers looked at the case histories of 190 autoworkers in Lansing and Pontiac, taking into account risk factors that include blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking and obesity.
Led by MSU professor of medicine Ved Gossain, the team discovered the autoworkers were at a higher risk of dying from heart disease and diabetes than the general population.
Gossain said they didn’t have to probe too much to learn just over half of the workers were obese while more than a third were considered overweight.
Two-thirds also had high levels of bad cholesterol compared to 31 percent of the general population.
Although the 16 percent of workers who smoked was below the national average of 18 percent, it was also discovered that another 58 percent had been smokers, which also increases the chances of premature death.
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