BMI category, recorded diagnosis composition, and occupational medicine certificate validity: the POLOCARIA study, 2016–2025
6 affiliations
- 1NZOZ Cichowski Poboży Healthcare Facility
- 2LUX MED Group
- 3Department of General, Oncological, Metabolic and Thoracic Surgery, CSK MON WIM-PIB
- 4Second Chair and Department of General, Vascular and Oncological Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Medical University of Warsaw (WUM)
- 5Warsaw University of Medical Sciences
- 6Department of Internal Medicine and Cardiology, Medical University of Warsaw
Abstract
Background: Occupational medicine examinations offer an opportunity to identify cardiometabolic risk among professionally active adults. This study examined associations between BMI, recorded diagnosis composition, circulatory parameters, and occupational medicine certificate validity.
Methods: This retrospective observational study analyzed 988,822 patient-year records from 620,882 patients attending a large private healthcare network in Poland during 2016–2025. Associations were examined using chi-square tests, analysis of variance, Spearman correlations, and linear regression with standard errors clustered by patient.
Results: Mean systolic blood pressure increased from 121.65 mmHg at normal weight to 141.01 mmHg in Class III obesity, while mean certificate validity decreased from 34.81 to 27.80 months. Diabetes/hyperglycaemia diagnoses represented 8.2% of selected diagnoses at normal weight and 20.8% in Class III obesity. BMI was negatively correlated with certificate validity (ρ = −0.172) and positively correlated with systolic blood pressure (ρ = 0.401). In the adjusted model, age category (β = −0.209), systolic blood pressure (β = −0.148), and BMI (β = −0.053) were associated with shorter certificate validity.
Conclusions: Higher BMI was associated with higher blood pressure, greater representation of selected cardiometabolic diagnoses, and shorter certificate validity. Occupational examinations may support cardiometabolic risk recognition, but diagnosis percentages are not prevalence estimates and certificate validity is not a measure of work ability or a causal consequence of BMI.
Related
- Thermophysiological responses to occupational heat stress during simulated wildland firefighting in females and males: influence of fitness and body composition
- Delayed Silicotuberculosis Diagnosis in a Young Worker: The Importance of Dust Control and Occupational Surveillance.
- Changing cause-of-death composition among patients undergoing gastrectomy for stage I–III gastric adenocarcinoma: a SEER landmark competing-risk analysis of mortality from diagnosis
- Saudi specialty certificate in endodontics: program directors perceptions of candidate selection
- The Rising Burden of Atrial Fibrillation and Respiratory Failure Mortality in the United States: A 25-Year Nationwide Retrospective Analysis of Death Certificate Data.
BibTeX
@article{pobozy2026category,
title = {{BMI category, recorded diagnosis composition, and occupational medicine certificate validity: the POLOCARIA study, 2016–2025}},
author = {Marcin Poboży and Anna Rulkiewicz and Wojciech Lisik and Zoran Stojčev and Ewa Filipiak-Rokicka and Iwona Pilchowska and Justyna Domienik-Karłowicz},
journal = {Frontiers in Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpubh.2026.1920503},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1920503/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - BMI category, recorded diagnosis composition, and occupational medicine certificate validity: the POLOCARIA study, 2016–2025
AU - Marcin Poboży
AU - Anna Rulkiewicz
AU - Wojciech Lisik
AU - Zoran Stojčev
AU - Ewa Filipiak-Rokicka
AU - Iwona Pilchowska
AU - Justyna Domienik-Karłowicz
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
JO - Frontiers in Public Health
DO - 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1920503
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1920503/full
AB - Background: Occupational medicine examinations offer an opportunity to identify cardiometabolic risk among professionally active adults. This study examined associations between BMI, recorded diagnosis composition, circulatory parameters, and occupational medicine certificate validity. Methods: This retrospective observational study analyzed 988,822 patient-year records from 620,882 patients attending a large private healthcare network in Poland during 2016–2025. Associations were examined using chi-square tests, analysis of variance, Spearman correlations, and linear regression with standard errors clustered by patient. Results: Mean systolic blood pressure increased from 121.65 mmHg at normal weight to 141.01 mmHg in Class III obesity, while mean certificate validity decreased from 34.81 to 27.80 months. Diabetes/hyperglycaemia diagnoses represented 8.2% of selected diagnoses at normal weight and 20.8% in Class III obesity. BMI was negatively correlated with certificate validity (ρ = −0.172) and positively correlated with systolic blood pressure (ρ = 0.401). In the adjusted model, age category (β = −0.209), systolic blood pressure (β = −0.148), and BMI (β = −0.053) were associated with shorter certificate validity. Conclusions: Higher BMI was associated with higher blood pressure, greater representation of selected cardiometabolic diagnoses, and shorter certificate validity. Occupational examinations may support cardiometabolic risk recognition, but diagnosis percentages are not prevalence estimates and certificate validity is not a measure of work ability or a causal consequence of BMI.
SN - 2296-2565
ER -