Prevalence of Hypertension and its Determinants among Policemen in a City of Haryana, India

Introduction

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) kill 40 million people each year, equivalent to 70% of all deaths globally. Cardiovascular diseases account for most NCD deaths or 17.7 million people annually. Police work has been regarded by some researchers as one of the most stressful occupations in the world, and coronary heart disease has been identified as a major cause of mortality in this population.

Materials and Methods

A cross-sectional study was carried out during July 2016-June 2017 among 450 policemen posted in Rohtak city of Haryana selected randomly. The investigator made two measurements of blood pressure. Data were collected using predesigned, pretested, semi-structured interview schedule, and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20.0.

Results

Of 450 participants, 164 (36.4%) participants were found to be hypertensive. Age of study participants, duration of service, rank, and education are significantly associated with the prevalence of hypertension (HTN) among policemen.

Conclusion

HTN in policemen has emerged as an important public health problem. Knowledge of risk factors for HTN may give tracks for prevention in this population. Therefore, it is the need of hour to devise a sound screening strategy to diagnose HTN among policemen and devise a comprehensive strategy for the management of HTN.

The Interaction Effects of Burnout and Job Support on Peptic Ulcer Disease (PUD) among Firefighters and Policemen

Policemen and firefighters encounter numerous emergency events that frequently lead to high burnout and low job support, resulting in adverse health effects. A number of studies reported the correlation between job characteristics and the risk of peptic ulcer diseases (PUD) across various industries. However, there is very little research on evaluating the interaction effects of burnout and job support on the prevalence of PUD among firefighters and policemen. The objective of this study was to assess the interactional effects between burnout and job support on the prevalence of PUD among firefighters and policemen. This was a cross-sectional quantitative study. Registered, full-time police officers and firefighters in Taiwan were anonymously interviewed by a mail-delivered questionnaire. All female workers were excluded due to different job characteristics and a limited sample size. A total of 9328 firefighters and 42,798 policemen completed the questionnaire, with a response rate of 78.7%. Overall, prevalence rates of self-reported and self-reports of physician-diagnosed PUD were 8.3% and 6.5% for policemen and 7.1% and 5.5% for firefighters, respectively. There was a 22% reduced odds ratio of PUD as diagnosed by physicians for the group with low burnout and high job support, but an increased odds ratio of 53% for the group with high burnout and low job support, after adjusting for lifestyle and demographic variables. There must be an increase of job support and reduction of burnout through the modification of work structure and setting up of counseling services to reduce workplace stress and the prevalence of PUD among policemen and firefighters.

Effects of very low blood lead levels on neurobehavioral performances of male policemen in kota bharu, kelantan

Many published studies that examined the effect of lead exposure on neurobehavioral performances were conducted in confined manufacturing environment with low to moderate blood lead levels as a marker of exposure. This study was conducted in a general environmental setting with very low exposure intensity and blood lead levels. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of very low blood lead levels (below 10 μg/dl) on the neurobehavioral performances of policemen in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. The study, conducted between August 25(th) and October 20(th) 2001, was cross-sectional in design and comprised of 89 policemen working in Kota Bharu district. The lead concentration of venous blood was determined using graphite furnace absorption spectrometer. We assessed neurobehavioral performances using the WHO Neurobehavioral Core Test Battery (NCTB). The mean blood lead concentration was 2.5 + 1.0 mg/dl. Among the seven tests performed, the positive effect of blood lead on Benton visual retention was not significant after controlling for the confounding effect of smoke-dose. This study suggested that very low blood lead levels have no significant effects on the neurobehavioral performances. Therefore, more studies with blood lead levels below the recommended environmental limit of 10 mg/dl, as recommended by Centers for Disease Control (CDC), be conducted in order to justify that limit.