Maritime Health Research and Education-NET/The International Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Hypertension Research Group/Revision of the ILO Guidelines for medical examination for seafarers

Under construction in the ongoing seminars Guidelines on the medical examinations of seafarers / International Labour Office, Sectoral Activities Programme; International Migration Organization. – Geneva: ILO, 2013

The revision is done on request to MAHRE-Net [on Feb 2021 from International Maritime Health Association (IMHA)[(1), Europeche (2) and European Transport Workers, (3) by the International Diabetes and Hypertension Research Group(4)

XIII. Accurate Diagnosis and follow-up of Diabetes and Hypertension

Medical certificates for seafarers and fishermen have historically been issued to secure their fitness, to stay safe and healthy, to reduce risks to other crew members, and for the safe operation of their ships which are generally far away from hospitals. While the objectives one hundred years ago were purely related to seafarer and ship safety, the ILO guidelines (influenced by Public Health science) now inspire to include protocols related to the general health of seafarers beyond the fit-for-duty protocol. According to the proposal in the ILO international guidelines, APPENDIX F, urinary glucose has been widely used as a screening tool for diabetes. Any questions as to the accuracy of the test has more or less so far been absent. However, due to its low sensitivity, it cannot be recommended as a screening test for Type 2 diabetes(5)(6)(7)(8). In February 2021 the International Maritime Health Association (IMHA), Europeche, and the European Transport Workers Federation (ETF) prompted The Maritime Health Research and Education-Net (Mahre-Net) to address the problem. The objective of this paper is to describe how accurate diagnostic tests for diabetes mellitus and Blood Pressure can be combined with the routine fit-for-duty health examinations for seafarers to produce valid data for patient advice and for research.

To be further edited based on this publication:

Jensen, Olaf Chresten, Agnes Flores, Victoria Corman, Maria Luisa Canals, David Lucas, Ilona Denisenko, Don Eliseo-III Lucero-Prisno, et al. “Screening for Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertension in Seafarers’ Medical Examinations.” Int Marit Health, n.d., 9. https://journals.viamedica.pl/international_maritime_health/article/view/IMH.2022.0010