Population health needs assessment and healthcare services use in a 3 years follow-up on administrative and clinical data: results from the Brisighella Heart Study

Ferrari Corporate Wellness Program: Results of a Pilot Analysis and the "Drag" Impact in the Workplace

INTRODUCTION

Preventive strategies based on advice and interventions on lifestyle habits represent the most powerful resource available to reduce the burden of cardiovascular (CV) diseases. Workplace represents an unmissable context for lifestyle changes at population level.

AIM

To evaluate the mid-term efficacy of a corporate wellness program in a cohort of healthy and physically active employees of the Ferrari car manufacturer.

METHODS

A corporate wellness program, named "Ferrari Formula Benessere", was proposed to adult individuals working in a Ferrari car company at Maranello, Modena (Italy). Employees who voluntarily agreed to the program received healthy nutritional advice and were trained three times a week (60 min per session), and periodically re-evaluated during a 4-year follow-up period.

RESULTS

Among the 719 Ferrari employees that joined the program, 168 (23%) subjects (88.5% males, age 30.8 ± 5.9 years) were considered the most active participants, based on a self-administered standardized questionnaire, and included in the study. A relevant improvement of several CV risk factors (body mass index, total and LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure) and cardio-respiratory fitness parameters (estimated VO_2max, Watt_peak, METs) was observed compared to baseline values. Furthermore, it was recorded a clear "drag effect" towards non-participating and sedentary peers, resulting in a 90% adherence increase over the years.

CONCLUSIONS

The "Ferrari Formula Benessere" corporate wellness project proved to be effective in improving CV risk profile and cardio-respiratory fitness in a population of already physically active employees.

Middle and Long-Term Impact of a Very Low-Carbohydrate Ketogenic Diet on Cardiometabolic Factors: A Multi-Center, Cross-Sectional, Clinical Study

Introduction

Obesity is a constantly growing illness in developed countries and it is strictly related to cardiovascular (CV) diseases, i.e. the main cause of mortality throughout industralised areas.

Aim

to test the ability of trained general physician to safely and effectively prescribe a very-low carbohydrate ketogenic (VLCK) diet in clinical practice, with a specific attention to the effect of this approach on overweight related CV risk factors (anthropometric measures) blood pressure, lipid levels, glucose metabolism).

Methods

The study has been carried out on a group of 377 patients scattered across Italy and monitored during 1 year. The proposed VLCK diet is a nutritional regimen characterized by low-fat and low- carbohydrates formulations and a protein content of 1.2/1.5 g/kg of ideal body weight, followed by a period of slow re-insertion and alimentary re-education.

Results

All the predetermined goals—namely safety, reduction of body weight and CV risk factors levels—have been reached with a significant reduction of body weight (from baseline to 4 weeks (−7 ± 5 kg, p < 0.001), from 4 to 12 weeks (−5 ± 3 kg, p < 0.001), no changes from 12 weeks to 12 months; waistline (from baseline to 4 weeks (−7 ± 4 cm, p < 0.001), from 4 to 12 weeks (−5 ± 7 cm, p < 0.001), no changes from 12 weeks to 12 months; fatty mass (from baseline to 4 weeks (−3.8 ± 3.8 %, p < 0.001), from 4 to 12 weeks (−3.4 ± 3.5 %, p < 0.001), no changes from 12 weeks to 12 months; SBP from baseline to 3 months (−10.5 ± 6.4 mmHg, p < 0.001), no further changes after 1 year of observation).

Conclusion

the tested VLCD diet suggested by trained general physicians in the setting of clinical practice seems to be able to significantly improve on the middle-term a number of anthropometric, haemodynamic and laboratory with an overall good tolerability.

Relationship between serum uric acid and electrocardiographic alterations in a large sample of general population: data from the Brisighella Heart Study

INTRODUCTION

Serum uric acid (SUA) may contribute to the increased cardiovascular damage through direct injury to the endothelium and alteration of cardiovascular function.

AIM

To evaluate the association of SUA with the presence of the most recurrent electrographic alterations and with the length of the main ECG intervals in a large sample of general population.

METHODS

For this study, on the database of the Brisighella Heart Study, we evaluated the available data of 790 men and 849 women, excluding subjects affected by gout or taking antihyperuricemic agents, those taking drug increasing the QT interval and those using beta-blockers or non-dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers at the moment of the ECG registration. Multiple ascending stepwise regression analyses were carried out to determine the independent predictors of the predefined ECG alterations.

RESULTS

The prevalence of predefined ECG alterations was comparable between genders, with the exception of sinus bradicardia, left-anterior fascicular block, atrio-ventricular blocks and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), which appeared to be more frequent in men. The multivariate analysis revealed that SUA was associated to ischaemic alterations, LVH, sinus tachycardia and tachyarrhytmias. Age was associated to all evaluated ECG alterations beyond sinus tachycardia and LVH. Male sex was associated to sinus bradicardia, atrio-ventricular blocks, anterior-left fascicular block and LVH. Blood pressure was associated to different ECG alterations, but with clinically relevant OR with ischaemic alterations and LVH.

CONCLUSION

SUA level is related the prevalence of both organic and rhythm ECG alterations in a wide sample of general population.