Cardiovascular health profile among Québec male and female police officers

A prospective study of health-related lifestyle changes among police cadets

The objectives of this prospective study were to explore the health-related lifestyle of police cadets and assess changes in their health behaviors following entry into the police force. To do so, 190 police cadets completed an online questionnaire assessing their physical activity level, sedentary behaviors, diet quality, sleep hygiene, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and stress level. One year following their graduation from the police training program, participants were invited to, once again, complete the questionnaire. Our results suggest that police cadets generally display healthy lifestyles, with very few cadets being physically inactive, smokers, reporting insufficient sleep duration, and displaying obesity. Nevertheless, paired-sample comparisons highlighted significant decreases in physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake, sleep duration, and sleep quality at the follow-up. Likewise, significant increases in fast-food consumption and BMI were observed.

Physical Activity, Occupational Stress, and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Law Enforcement Officers: A Cross-sectional Study

OBJECTIVE

This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the interrelationship between leisure-time physical activity (LTPA), occupational stress, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in law enforcement officers (LEOs).

METHODS

A total of 229 LEOs completed a survey assessing their LTPA level, occupational stress, and CVD risk factors.

RESULTS

After adjusting for age and sex, physically inactive LEOs are more likely to have one or more CVD risk factors. While high occupational stress was associated with greater odds of CVD risk factors in physically inactive LEOs, stress was not significantly associated with the prevalence of CVD risk factors in active LEOs.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that occupational stress is associated with the prevalence of CVD risk factors in LEOs. Nevertheless, LTPA might have the potential to mitigate the impact of occupational stress on CVD risk factors.

Health, Safety, and Wellness Concerns Among Law Enforcement Officers: An Inductive Approach

Background: Although studies have assessed the impact of occupational risk factors on the health of law enforcement officers (LEO's), few have involved (LEO's) as informants in ways that allow their points of view to be heard directly. Thus, the objective of this study is to explore the occupational health, safety, and wellness (OHSW) concerns of (LEO's). Methods: (LEO's) working in Quebec, Canada were invited to answer an open-ended question regarding their OHSW concerns. Using a multi-stage content analysis, the collected answers were analyzed and coded by two members of the research team to identify the most recurrent concerns of (LEO's). Findings: Five themes relating to the OHSW concerns of (LEO's) were identified, namely, the work schedule, occupational stress, work equipment, workplace health promotion, and operational risks. Furthermore, our analyses highlighted differences in the concerns of (LEO's) based on their level of experience and sex. Conclusions/Application to Practice: This study addresses a gap in the literature on the OHSW concerns from the perspective of (LEO's). Overall, our results support that the work schedule and occupational stress associated with law enforcement are the two most recurrent concerns of (LEO's). Thus, the results of this study further stress the need for police organizations to implement strategies and policies, which could mitigate the deleterious effects of these hazards on the overall wellness of (LEO's).

The physiological demands of helicopter winch rescue in water and over land

Physically demanding water and over land winch rescues are critical tasks for helicopter paramedics. To assess the physiological demands of winch rescue, 14 intensive care flight paramedics (12 male, 2 female, mean (±SD) age 44.3 (±5.4) years, experience 7.1 (±5.2) years) completed land and water-based task simulations. For the land task, VO₂ was 41.7 (±4.5) mL kg^-1 min^-1, or 86 (±11) % of VO_2peak. Task duration was 7.0 (±3.6) min, or 53 (±27) % of maximal acceptable work duration (MAWD) (13.2 (±9.0) min). For the water task, VO₂ was 36.7 (±4.4) mL kg^-1 min^-1, (81 (±12) % of VO_2peak). Water task duration was 10.2 (±1.1) min, or 47.6 (±4.8) % of calculated MAWD (21.0 (±15.6) min). These results demonstrate that helicopter rescue paramedics work at very high physiological workloads for moderate durations, and these demands should be considered when developing selection tests and when deploying to rescues, to ensure staff are capable of task performance. Practitioner summary: Paramedics performed helicopter winch rescue task simulations in water and over land. Paramedics worked at 81% of VO_2peak for 10.2 min and 86% of VO_2peak for 7 min for swim and land tasks respectively. Rescue organisations should consider these demands when selecting and credentialing staff and when deploying to incidents. Abbreviations: HEMS: helicopter emergency medical service; ICFP: intensive care flight paramedic; MAWD: maximal acceptable work duration; PES: physical employment standards; SAR: search and rescue.

Impact of a Season of Bike Patrol on Police Officers' Level of Fitness: A Pilot Study

Bike patrollers must have a good level of fitness to perform their patrolling duties adequately and effectively by bike and accomplish specific work tasks, which may require the use of various physical capacities. However, there is little information on the real workload associated with bike patrol and its impact on health. The purpose of this study was to assess the general physical fitness of police officers before and after a season of bike patrolling and then quantify its effects on each patroller’s health. All six male police officers (29.5 ± 4.3 years old) performed two complete physical fitness evaluations (PRE- and POST-season), which included anthropometric measurements (weight, waist circumference, and body mass index), a push-up test, a sit-up test, a grip strength test, a vertical jump test, a sit-and-reach test, and an aerobic capacity test on a bicycle ergometer. Paired t-tests were used to evaluate the differences in test performance between the PRE- and POST-season. Grip strength, estimated VO₂max, and power deployed on the bike all showed significant improvement after the season (p-value 0.0133; 0.007; and 0.003, respectively). No significant differences were found among the evaluation’s other components (p > 0.05). Results show the workload associated with a bike patrol season caused a considerable improvement in grip strength, VO₂max, and power deployed on the bike, and might be beneficial for their overall health as a work-integrated avenue to keep the officers fit for duty. Further research on the subject is suggested.

Fitness components associated with performance of a law enforcement physical employment standard in police cadets

BACKGROUND

The physical preparation of cadets for both PES and police job performance is a major concern for police organisations. Identifying fitness components associated with both PES performance and work performance can provide essential information for the physical training of police cadets. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the association of fitness components with performance of the Standardized Physical Abilities Test (SPAT), a new law enforcement PES.

METHODS

A sample of 41 police cadets was recruited to take part in this cross-sectional study. First, the participants were assessed using six fitness assessments (standing broad jump, medicine ball put, grip strength test, visuomotor reaction time (VMRT) test, modified agility T-test, and 600-meter run). In a second experiment, participants performed the SPAT.

RESULTS

Bivariate correlation analysis showed moderate to strong associations between each fitness assessment and SPAT performance. Based on stepwise multiple regression analysis, results at the VMRT test, the medicine ball put, and the agility T-test accounted for 66.0% of the variability in SPAT performance (R2 = 0.660; p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, our results suggest that exercise prescriptions for police cadets should focus on power, agility, and VMRT. Furthermore, our results show that performance in a PES can be estimated rather precisely based on low-cost fitness assessments. Therefore, such methodology could be used to develop fitness assessments specific to PES requirements.

The Associations of Perceived and Oxidative Stress with Hypertension in a Cohort of Police Officers

PURPOSE

Associations between perceived stress and oxidative stress marker and metabolic syndrome (MetS) components were investigated in a cohort of police officers.

METHODS

Cross-sectional data from a cohort of non-diabetic subjects (n=233; 19F), median [interquartile range] age 50 [37-44] years, were analysed. MetS was construed in line with International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria and perceived stress with Cohen's 10-item Perceived Stress Scale. Plasma oxidative stress marker (free 8-iso-prostaglandin F_2α; 8-iso-PGF_2α), presence of coronary plaque, carotid artery intima-media thickness (cIMT), and physical activity level were also determined.

RESULTS

Obesity was established in 100 (42.92%), hypertension in 111 (47.64), whereas MetS was identified in 104 (44.63%) of the study subjects. A significant difference (p=0.003) in plasma 8-iso-PGF_2α level, depending on the MetS components status, was noted. The associations of perceived stress with plasma 8-iso-PGF_2α level and the select study variables were gender-specific. In multivariate analysis (adjusted for age and current smoking), positive associations of plasma 8-iso-PGF_2α levels with PSS score (B=0.108, 95% CI [0.008, 0.209], p=0.03) and systolic blood pressure (B=0.029, 95% CI [0.003, 0.057], p=0.02) in men only were established. Both the perceived stress (OR 1.101, 95% CI [1.001-1.202], p=0.03) and plasma 8-iso-PGF_2α levels (OR 1.223, 95% CI [1.046-1.432], p=0.01) impacted the prevalence of hypertension. Out of the MetS components, the effect of waist circumference (OR=1.138, 95% CI [1.064-1.218], p=0.0001) and glucose (B=2.696, 95% CI [1.081-6.725], p=0.03) were also encountered. No such associations were noted in women, though, neither in univariate nor in multivariate analyses. The prevalence of coronary plaque (0.001), obesity (p<0.001), hypertension (p<0.001) and median cIMT value (p=0.005), as well as leisure-time (p=0.04) and total walking physical activity (p=0.03), differed significantly between the subgroups stratified by MetS components status.

CONCLUSION

Both the perceived and oxidative stress were found instrumental in promoting hypertension in a cohort of police officers under study, whereas all study outcomes were conclusively gender-related.

Quality of life, health conditions and life style of civil police officers

OBJECTIVES

Evaluate the relation between quality of life, health conditions and life style of Civil Police Officers in Porto Alegre/RS.

METHOD

Transversal study with 237 police officers that answered a questionnaire containing socio-occupational information, life style, health conditions and the instrument World Health Quality of Life (WHOQOL-bref). The data was collected in 2018 and submitted to statistical analysis.

RESULTS

Broad domain of quality of life showed higher rates in non-hypertensive subjects (p=0,002), without cardiovascular alterations (p=0,001), non-smokers (p=0,003), no alcohol ingestion (p=0,036), regular physical activity (p<0,001), healthy eating (p<0,001), no use of medication (p=0,028), able to have time to rest (p=0,049). Correlated with sleeping, weight, abdominal and hip circumference (p<0.01).

CONCLUSION

Chronic diseases, use of medication and unhealthy lifestyle are related to worsening health-related quality of life.

Educational Intervention Based on the Health Belief Model to Modify Risk Factors of Cardiovascular Disease in Police Officers in Iran: A Quasi-experimental Study

Objectives:

Police officers may be at a greater risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) than the general population due to their highstress occupation. This study evaluated how an educational program based on the health belief model (HBM) may protect police officers from developing CVD.

Methods:

In this single-group experimental study, 58 police officers in Iran participated in a 5-week intervention based on HBM principles. Outcomes included changes in scores on an HBM scale, time spent on moderate to vigorous physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire), body mass index (BMI), blood lipid profile, blood glucose, and blood pressure. The intervention consisted of 5 HBM-based educational sessions. Follow-up was conducted at 3 months post-intervention. The paired t-test was used to examine differences between baseline and follow-up scores.

Results:

All aspects of the HBM scale improved between baseline and follow-up (p<0.05), except the cues to action subscale. Self-efficacy and preventive behaviors improved the most. BMI decreased from 26.7±2.9 kg/m² at baseline to 25.8±2.4 kg/m² at follow-up. All components of the lipid profile, including triglycerides, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein, showed significant improvements post-intervention. Blood glucose and blood pressure also decreased, but not significantly. Nearly 25% of participants who were not physically active at baseline increased their physical activity above or beyond the healthy threshold.

Conclusions:

A relatively brief educational intervention based on HBM principles led to a significant improvement in CVD risk factors among police officers. Further research is needed to corroborate the effectiveness of this intervention.

Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in a population of French firefighters

Firefighters' activities increase the risk of sudden cardiac events. The main objective of this study was to describe the Loire firefighters' cardiovascular risk factors according to their cardiovascular risk and to their professional status. A retrospective study of the entire population of firefighters of the Loire department was conducted. Risk factors derived from the data collected during the occupational health follow-up medical examinations were described and the cardiovascular risk was assessed for 417 firefighters. The most frequent cardiovascular risk factors were: overweight and obesity (62.1%), high blood pressure (27.8%) and active smoking (16,1%). There were no significant differences between career firefighters and volunteers. The prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular diseases is less than in the general population. Obesity remains the most common risk factor, especially among firefighters with high cardiovascular risk.

Despite Low Obesity Rates, Body Mass Index Under-Estimated Obesity among Russian Police Officers When Compared to Body Fat Percentage

In some countries, obesity rates among police officers are higher than the general public, despite physically demanding jobs. Obesity rates based on body mass index (BMI) may lack accuracy as BMI does not directly address body composition. Since data are lacking for obesity rates among Russian police officers, this study documented and compared officer obesity rates to the adult Russian population and compared the accuracy of body mass index (BMI) for obesity classification to two direct measures of body composition. Moscow region police officers (N = 182, 84% men) underwent height, weight, waist circumference (WC), and body fat percentage (BF%) bioelectrical impedance measurements during annual medical examinations. BMI-defined obesity rates were 4.6% for men and 17.2% for women, which were >3 and >1.8 times lower than Russian adults, respectively. WC-defined obesity rates were similar to BMI (3.3% for men and 10.3% for women), but BF%-defined obesity rates were much higher (22.2% for men and 55.2% for women). Although obesity rates were lower than those found among police officers in other countries, BMI alone was not a particularly accurate method for classifying weight status among Russian police officers.