Biological age and nutritional status in workers at the industrial and agricultural production

Introduction. The comparison of biological age and nutritional status and the state of health in industrial and agricultural workers is interesting, since urban and rural populations differ significantly in quality of life, work and recreation, and access to medical care.

Materials and methods. The object of the study is employees of an oil refinery and tractor drivers of agricultural production. There were analyzed following data: biological age, nutritional status, and data on accumulated chronic diseases. Pairwise comparisons of independent samples were performed using the nonparametric Mann–Whitney criterion. The Pearson criterion was used to analyze the relationship of features.

Results. In the group of refinery workers, there were established uniform distribution by functional classes of biological age, the relationship between the rate of aging with work experience and smoking. The group of tractor drivers was characterized by a more accelerated rate of aging, while there was no association with work experience and smoking. Workers in both groups of the survey were characterized by a high prevalence of abdominal obesity, excessive consumption of saturated fats and added sugar, and low fibers intake. Metabolic risk factors (overweight, hypercholesterolemia) are more common among agricultural workers. A significant prevalence of diseases of the circulatory system (mainly hypertensive disease), diseases of the musculoskeletal system and the endocrine system among refinery workers, respiratory diseases and allergic pathology among tractor drivers has been established.

Limitations. The study has regional (Saratov region) and occupational (workers of oil refining production, agricultural machine operators of agricultural production) limitations.

Conclusions. The data obtained indicate to the need to develop measures to ensure safe working conditions for health, to eliminate or minimize behavioral risk factors for the development of chronic diseases. It is necessary to increase awareness about the risk factors for developing chronic non-communicable diseases and the early signs of their manifestation, motivate urban and rural working people to lead a healthy lifestyle, and improve medical care in rural areas.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study was approved by the local Ethical Committee of the Saratov Institute of Hygiene of the Federal State Budgetary Institution “Federal Research Center for Medical and Preventive Technologies for Public Health Risk Management” (Protocol No. 15 dated 01/09/2022) in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration of the World Medical Association. The written consent of the respondents was obtained to participate in the study.

Contributions:
Raikova S.V. – the concept and design of the study, collection and processing of material, writing a text;
Komleva N.E. – the concept and design of the study, editing;
Mazilov S.I. – writing a text, statistical processing;
Novikova T.A. – collection and processing of material, writing a text.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Funding. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: March 21, 2025 / Revised: June 24, 2025 / Accepted: September 12, 2025 / Published: October 20, 2025

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