Cardiovascular disease accounts for one in three deaths in the United States each year, and coronary heart disease and stroke account for most of those deaths (1). To try to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services launched the Million Hearts initiative, promoting proven and effective interventions in communities and clinical settings. In workplace settings, cardiovascular disease can be addressed through a Total Worker Health program, which integrates occupational safety and health protection with health promotion. To identify workers likely to benefit from such a program, CDC analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) for the period 2008–2012 to estimate the prevalence of a history of coronary heart disease or stroke (CHD/stroke) among adults aged <55 years by selected characteristics, employment status, occupation category, and industry of employment. The results of that analysis showed that 1.9% of employed adults aged <55 years reported a history of CHD/stroke, compared with 2.5% of unemployed adults looking for work, and 6.3% of adults not in the labor force (e.g., unemployed adults who stopped looking for work, homemakers, students, retired persons, and disabled persons). Workers employed in service and blue collar occupations were more likely than those in white collar occupations to report a history of CHD/stroke. Two industry groups also had significantly higher adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) for CHD/stroke: Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services* and Accommodation and Food Service.† Workers in these occupation and industry groups might especially benefit from a Total Worker Health approach to reducing the risk for CHD/stroke.

NHIS collects information about the health of the noninstitutionalized, civilian population in the United States, using nationally representative samples. Interviews are initiated in person with telephone follow-up when the interview cannot be completed in person. Questions about a history of CHD/stroke (defined as self-reported history of stroke or coronary heart disease [including angina and myocardial infarction] or both),§ employment status, industry, and occupation are asked of randomly selected adults. NHIS obtains verbatim responses from employed adult respondents (aged ≥18 years) regarding their industry (employer’s type of business) and occupation (employee’s type of work). These responses are reviewed by U.S. Census Bureau coding specialists, who assign 4-digit industry codes based on the 2007 North American Industrial Classification System.¶

For this analysis, an employment status variable was created with three categories: currently employed, unemployed, and not in the labor force. Adults were classified as unemployed if they reported that they were looking for work, whereas adults not in the labor force included unemployed adults who stopped looking for work, homemakers, students, retired persons, and disabled persons. Occupations were grouped into four categories: white collar, service (e.g., hairdresser, nurse’s aide, and cook), blue collar (e.g., construction worker, factory worker, and truck driver), and farm. For analyses by industry, the 21 simple 2-digit industry recodes provided in the NHIS public dataset were used, which are based on codes for the 2-digit North American Industrial Classification System. Industry categories with fewer than 10 cases were grouped into the Other/Unknown category.

Weighted data were used to produce national estimates. Point estimates and estimates of corresponding variances were calculated using statistical software to account for the complex sample design. Statistical significance was determined at p<0.05. Prevalence estimates were based on data collected by NHIS surveys during 2008–2012 from 91,331 adult respondents aged <55 years. Annual adult response rates ranged from 60.8% to 66.3%. For calculation of aPRs for industries, each category was compared with all other industry categories combined (e.g., workers employed in Wholesale Trade Industries were compared with workers employed in all other categories combined). To account for differences in workforce demographics by occupation and industry, aPRs based on occupation and industry were adjusted for sex and age. Differences in prevalence were considered significant if their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) did not overlap, and aPRs were considered significant if their CIs did not include 1.00.

The prevalence of a history of CHD/stroke among all adults aged <55 years was estimated to be 2.8% (Table 1), including 2.0% for coronary heart disease and 1.0% for stroke. The prevalence among employed adults was 1.9%. The prevalence was higher among both unemployed adults (2.5%) and adults not in the labor force (6.3%). Among adults who were employed, men and current and former smokers were significantly more likely than women and those who had never smoked to report a history of CHD/stroke. The prevalence of CHD/stroke among workers increased in each higher age group, and workers with a college degree were less likely than workers with less education to report a history of CHD/stroke.

After adjusting for sex and age, workers in service (aPR = 1.53) or blue collar (aPR = 1.40) occupations were more likely than those in white collar occupations to report a history of CHD/stroke (Table 2). Two industries had significantly higher adjusted aPRs: Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services (aPR = 1.47) and Accommodation and Food Service (aPR = 1.37) (Table 3).