Forty-one percent of those with high cholesterol have not even been diagnosed. These high rates of undiagnosed and uncontrolled disease put both the worker and the employer at a disadvantage. An estimated 18 million workers have high blood pressure. Seventy-eight percent of those with high blood pressure are not adequately controlled. Thirty-five percent of workers with high blood pressure don't even know about it.
Men are less likely than women to be aware of their asymptomatic chronic conditions.
Workers with arthritis are absent from work three times as often as workers without arthritis. Absenteeism is highest among workers aged 35-44, the age group least likely to be treated with prescription medication for arthritis. Arthritis poses a 3 - 4 fold increased risk of diminished work productivity. Workers with migraine headaches are absent from work three times as often as workers without migraines. Workers under 55 years of age with migraine are twice as likely to not be able to do the amount or kind of work for which they are responsible or skilled as workers under 55 who don't have migraines.