Psychological support algorithms for underground miners to assess hypertension development risk

Objective. To study the psychovegetative status of underground miners and form psychological support algorithms to identify the risk for developing hypertension. Hypertension occupies a leading place in the structure of cardiovascular diseases, and determining the risk of its development is of great preventive importance for professional longevity. The study of the psychovegetative status to identify the risk of this pathology corresponds to modern diagnostic approaches within the framework of industrial corporate programs.

Materials and methods. There were examined 109 male underground miners of the enterprise for the extraction of chromium ore. The patients were divided into two groups: the main group – 60 men working in underground conditions, whose work is classified as "harmful" (class 3.3–3.4); the comparison group – 49 men engaged in ground works, the conditions of which are classified as class 3.2. The main group was divided into two subgroups: I – workers under 45 years old (n = 20, age 38.45 ± 2.95 years), II – over 45 years old (n = 40, age 50.90 ± 1.46 years.); the comparison group was divided accordingly (23 employees, aged 38.0 ± 2.8 years, experience – 9.3 ± 1.5 years; comparison group <45 years and 26 employees, aged 49.2 ± 2.1 years, experience – 24.0 ± 1.8 years; comparison group >45 years). A complex of research methods was used: analytical (analysis of special assessment cards of working conditions, sociodemographic questionnaires), psychophysiological, functional and clinical and laboratory diagnostics, mathematical statistics (ROC analysis, multivariate logistic regression).

Results. In two subgroups, two phenotypes were identified; in group I, there was a correlation of psychovegetative indicators with age and experience, and in group II – a negative correlation. It has been proved that, depending on age, the psychologically realized adaptive phenotype is transformed into a psychosomatic one.

Conclusions. Diagnostics of phenotype transformation formed the basis of the developed algorithms for psychological support, which makes it possible to assess the risk for developing arterial hypertension.