Research of a Functional State of Cardiovascular and Muscular Systems of Female Greenhouse Workers during the Work Shift

Abstract

Introduction: The number of greenhouse vegetable businesses has been increasing recently. Most tasks in the greenhouses are still done manually and associated with physical stress. Our objective was to study characteristics of the circulatory and muscular systems of female greenhouse workers in the course of their work and depending on the length of service at the enterprise. The materials included some indices of the functional state of the organism of greenhouse workers growing vegetables such as the heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, muscle strength and endurance of the right hand in the process of harvesting and removing plant debris. The statistical data processing was performed using the Microsoft Excel 2016 software. The results of the study showed that the work of greenhouse vegetable growers caused gradual changes in the functioning of the cardiovascular and neuromuscular systems of the body. The most significant increase in the heart rate and blood pressure and the decrease in muscle strength and endurance were observed among the greenhouse workers with 15 or more years of work experience. We also observed a significant decrease in muscle strength of the right hand among the workers with the shortest record of service (< 5 years). The study of the functional state of the cardiovascular and muscular systems helped establish the most potentially efficient group of greenhouse vegetable growers: the smallest fluctuations of the measured indices were observed in the women with 6-9 years of service. Conclusions: Our findings prove the necessity of systematic science-based measures of disease prevention in female greenhouse employees.