ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health

Sec. Occupational Health and Safety

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1609034

This article is part of the Research TopicNutrition Counseling for Non-Communicable Disease ManagementView all 7 articles

An Observational Study on Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factors Among Healthcare Workers in High-Stress Environments

Provisionally accepted
Alessandra PirrelloAlessandra Pirrello1Daniele Giacomo MancusoDaniele Giacomo Mancuso1Chiara PaceChiara Pace1Angelo ImmordinoAngelo Immordino2Virginia MeliVirginia Meli2Fabio TramutoFabio Tramuto1Alessandra CasuccioAlessandra Casuccio1Palmira ImmordinoPalmira Immordino1*
  • 1University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
  • 2Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Policlinico Paolo Giaccone, Palermo, Sicily, Italy

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Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) account for 74% of global mortality and place significant socioeconomic burdens on healthcare systems. Despite their knowledge and awareness, healthcare workers (HCWs) often struggle to adopt preventive measures due to demanding work conditions and high-stress environments. This observational study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of NCD risk factors among HCWs at the University Hospital "Paolo Giaccone" in Palermo, Italy. An online questionnaire, based on the WHO's STEPS approach, was administered to 390 HCWs. Data from 273 responses were analyzed using SPSS software. The sample comprised 57.9% women, predominantly nurses (35.9%). Key findings revealed that 56.8% consumed alcohol, 42.1% used tobacco, and 86.1% frequently skipped meals due to work. Lifestyle factors, such as fruit and vegetable consumption, salt intake, and physical activity, were assessed alongside metabolic risk factors like blood pressure, glycemia, and triglycerides. Despite their expertise in NCD prevention, HCWs often failed to implement healthy behaviors. While evening shift work showed limited correlation with lifestyle changes, results underscored the need for targeted health promotion programs for HCWs. Healthcare institutions should actively support their workforce in adopting healthier lifestyles to mitigate NCD risks and improve public health outcomes.

Keywords: Non-communicable diseases, Healthcare workers, Lifestyle risk factors, health promotion programs, Occupational health)

Received: 09 Apr 2025; Accepted: 13 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Pirrello, Mancuso, Pace, Immordino, Meli, Tramuto, Casuccio and Immordino. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Palmira Immordino, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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