Introduction. The problem of high mortality from cardiovascular diseases is caused, among other things, by asymptomatic atherosclerosis, which proceeds latently for a long time and manifests itself as a serious vascular catastrophe, which is of particular importance for people working at production facilities with difficult and dangerous working conditions.The aim of the study was to assess the risk factors for atherosclerosis and the state of the vascular wall in the workers of the main professions of coal enterprises in the South of Kuzbass.Material and methods. In total, the study included 384 people (men), of whom 266 were the workers in coal mines in the South of Kuzbass and 118 people who were not employed in the coal industry, aged 40 to 55 years. The diagnosis of atherosclerosis was carried out on the ultrasound system “Vivid E9” of the manufacturing company GE using a linear sensor for measuring the thickness of the intima-media complex and visualization of atherosclerotic plaques. To identify significant risk factors, anthropometric, anamnestic data, indices of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, and the presence of arterial hypertension were studied.Results. Significant differences in the frequency of asymptomatic atherosclerosis in the form of an increase in intima-media thickness by more than 1 mm and / or the presence of atherosclerotic plaques in both groups were not found: 60.2% among the miners and 62.3% among non-coal mining workers (p=0.703); at the same time, the percentage of detection of atherosclerotic plaques in arteries was significantly lower among coal workers — 46.9% versus 60.5% among people in the comparison group (p=0.016). The common risk factors for all examined subjects were arterial hypertension and increased level of glycated hemoglobin; in turn, in coal miners additional risk factors were increased values of low density lipoproteins and waist-hip index, as well as burdened heredity for cardiovascular diseases, and among the individuals not employed in the coal industry it was smoking.Conclusions. The most significant risk factors for atherosclerosis in coal industry workers were arterial hypertension, raised values of glycated hemoglobin, low density lipoproteins and waist-hip index, as well as burdened heredity for cardiovascular diseases. Significant differences in the frequency of asymptomatic atherosclerosis in the form of an increase in the thickness of the intima-media complex of the main arteries and the presence of atherosclerotic plaques in both groups were not established, but the percentage of the detection of atherosclerotic plaques was lower among coal miners.The authors declare no conflict of interests.
