Prevalence of chronic venous pathology in healthcare workers and the role of upright standing

Background: Chronic venous disease (CVD) affects around 25% of adult population in developed countries and it often represent a health problem for different kind of workers, in particular for who spend much of the working time in upright standing. Methods: The study was carried out on a population of 173 nonmedical workers of a midsize hospital in Italy (91 nurse, 31 support staff workers and 51 employees). The study protocol was taken from a previous study of our group and included a clinical examination and a questionnaire. Results: From the analysis of data it emerged a particular importance of upright standing as major risk factor for CVD. The prevalence of venous pathology seems to be greater among nurses and auxiliaries than the administrative staff and, as expected, it was significantly higher among female workers than in males. Conclusions: The results obtained show that the clinical-diagnostic protocol described can be used by doctors for screening venous pathology at workplaces.