A RANDOMIZED TRIAL OF THE IMPACT WORKSITE CHOLESTEROL REDUCTION PROGRAM

To evaluate the incremental effectiveness of a worksite cholesterol co ntrol management program when added to an established, comprehensive h ealth promotion program at the worksite, we conducted a randomized, co ntrolled trial including both blue- and white-collar employees at four geographically dispersed worksites. One hundred twenty-seven employee s with serum cholesterol levels of 240 mg/dL or greater were assigned to receive an enhanced intervention program (the IMPACT program) while 125 were assigned to a regular screening and referral group, which in cluded a comprehensive worksite health promotion program. One hundred eighteen program and 116 control subjects had one-year follow-up measu res recorded. We used venipuncture specimens to obtain standardized ba seline and follow-up cholesterol measures. Program subjects experience d a mean decline of 16.6 mg/dL as compared to a decline of 10.0 mg/dL in control subjects. The crude intergroup difference was 6.6 mg/dL (95 % confidence internal [CI] = 1.1, 14.3), while the adjusted difference was 6.9 mg/dL (95% CI = 0.5, 14.3). Neither difference was significan t at the .05 level. The percentage of program subjects who reduced the ir cholesterol level to below 240 mg/dL (36%) was significantly greate r than the corresponding percentage among control subjects (21%). The enhanced worksite cholesterol control program provided incremental ben efit in the percentage of individuals with elevated cholesterol in a p opulation already exposed to a comprehensive worksite health promotion program that includes regular cholesterol screening, referral, and ed ucation activities.