Cost effectiveness of work-site cholesterol screening and intervention programs.

A study was conducted to evaluate the costs and cost effectiveness of behavioral interventions designed to reduce high serum cholesterol levels in a manufacturing population. A sample of 3202 employees participating in a screening was separated into four intervention groups and a control group. All four intervention groups received an educational program of varying length (1 or 3 months). Two of these groups also received incentives. A second screening was conducted after the interventions to determine effectiveness. The 1-month educational intervention with incentive and the 3-month educational intervention had the lowest costs per participant ($46.28 and $53.09, respectively) and costs per borderline high or high risk participant reducing cholesterol greater than 10% ($285.89 and $351.56) and the greatest effectiveness per dollar spent (0.60 and 0.62). The cost-effectiveness analyses were affected by the impact of the intervention and participation rate. Sensitivity analyses showed that increasing participation had a greater impact on the less cost-effective interventions.

Prevalence of hypercholesterolemia in a national worksite sample.

We conducted a screening for serum cholesterol levels at 41 locations of a large manufacturing company to determine baseline serum cholesterol levels in a workplace population. Locations were based on volunteerism. We conducted screenings at the worksite with individuals voluntarily participating on company time. Fifty percent of eligible employees participated in the screening. Using National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines, we identified 17.6% of employees as hypercholesterolemic (greater than or equal to 240 mg/dL), and another 30.2% were at borderline high risk. Total serum cholesterol increased with age and was higher in men than in women. Total cholesterol was significantly associated with age, sex, marital status, and education, but not with occupational status.