Nine out of 10 employees carrying ‘significant’ heart health risk
Nearly nine out of 10 employees (86%) have at least one ‘clinically significant’ warning sign of heart health risk, research has found.
The fact that heart conditions such as high blood pressure will often be asymptomatic means they can be difficult to detect in everyday life, yet can be significant contributors to serious health issues, such as stroke or heart attacks.
The analysis of more than 62,000 employee assessments across 1,469 UK organisations by Bluecrest Wellness found that, as well as 86% with cardiovascular health ‘red flags’, 37.9% of employees were flagged for elevated blood pressure risk.
The 86% showed early warning signs of at least one of 12 separate cardiovascular and metabolic markers, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, blood sugar, or BMI. While, perhaps unsurprisingly, these were more prevalent in the over-50s (as high as 94%) worryingly for future heart health two-thirds of those aged under 30 (68%) also had cardiovascular ‘red flag’ markers.
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By sector, those working in the public sector, security and facilities, construction, engineering and property, and manufacturing and logistics all exceeded 50% red flag prevalence on composite heart disease and stroke risk score, Bluecrest said.
Public sector workers and those in the not-for-profit sector recorded the highest proportion of obesity red flags, with healthcare close behind.
Healthcare also showed the highest rates of clinical depression and anxiety flags (19.4% and 20.5% respectively), it added.
When it came to mental ill health more generally, there was also a worrying prevalence of anxiety, depression and mental ill health among younger employees, the study found. Employees aged under 30 recorded an average anxiety score of 6.79 on the GAD-7 screening scale (which measures severity of anxiety), against a threshold of 5.
Women flagged significantly higher for anxiety and depression, while men showed materially higher physical health risks.
Men flagged significantly higher on cardio-metabolic markers (66% amber/red for BMI versus 50% for women). Women however flagged higher on mental health (53% for anxiety versus 41% for men). In all, women generally spent an average of 19 years in poor health, the analysis concluded.
More positively, the research highlighted that early detection and health prevention can work. Among employees with elevated blood pressure at their first assessment, 46.3% showed improvement by their second, rising to 48.9% by their third.
A total of 84% of employees took at least one positive health action following their assessment. More than a fifth (22.2%) went on to seek clinical advice – NHS or private – who would not have done so otherwise.
The research recommended as a result that employers shift from a reactive workplace health approach to something much proactive. This needed to include regular, structured assessments to monitor conditions that initially present with no symptoms, such as hypertension, pre-diabetes, and inflammation.
Bluecrest also recommended greater investment in personalised benefits, rather than treating your workforce as a single, uniform group. Committing to repeat assessments, rather than one-off checks, also brought value, it argued.
“86% is a number that seems unbelievable, and rightly so,” said Bluecrest chief medical officer Dr Martin Thornton. “But it’s worth being clear that it measures the share of people showing at least one early warning sign across 12 cardiovascular and metabolic markers.”
Nevertheless, he added that the two-thirds of under-30s showing early signal of cardiovascular ill health was a “sobering finding”.
“The evidence shows improvement compounds with each follow-up. Build repeat assessments into the programme from the outset – it’s the mechanism through which a health programme actually works,” the report also stated.
Dominique Kent, chief executive officer at Bluecrest Wellness, also highlighted that the extension of statutory sick pay to the first day of illness under the Employment Rights Act means will mean the cost of absence, whether for cardiovascular, mental or other ill health, is now more immediate and visible to employers.
“For HR and benefits leaders, that makes the case for prevention not just a wellbeing argument, but a financial one. When people understand their own health data, they act on it. The evidence for early intervention is incredibly compelling, and the organisations that embrace it are already seeing the difference it makes,” she said.
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