Cardiovascular risk factors among Polish employees of uniformed services

OBJECTIVES

Employees of uniformed services (EoUS) were screened for cardiovascular risk factors.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A total of 1138 EoUS (age M±SD 49.9±6.0 years) and 263 controls (age M±SD 54.4±9.7 years) under the care of the cardiology clinic in Gdańsk, Poland, were included in the study. Medical history and blood samples were collected, and a physical examination was performed. Ten-year cardiovascular risk of death was calculated using the systematic coronary risk evaluation (SCORE) risk algorithm for high-risk countries.

RESULTS

Significantly higher values of mean systolic and mean diastolic blood pressure, mean total cholesterol level and mean BMI were recorded among the EoUS compared to controls (M±SD 141.7±11.6 mm Hg vs. 135.5±11.0 mm Hg, p < 0.001; 90.1±5.9 mm Hg vs. 84.5±6.8 mm Hg, p < 0.001; 6.01±0.76 mmol vs. 5.44±0.87 mmol, p < 0.001; 29.3±4.7 vs. 29.0±4.1, p < 0.001, respectively). Smoking cigarettes was most frequently reported by the youngest group (20-39 years old) - 47.7% and it was significantly higher in the entire EoUS group compared to control group (35.5% vs. 16.7%, p = 0.001). The occurrence of observed risk factors (blood pressure ≥140/90 mm Hg, total cholesterol concentration >5 mmol, smoking,) was significantly higher among EoUS compared to controls (92.1% vs. 57.8%, p < 0.001; 89.0% vs. 66.9%, p < 0.001; 35.5% vs. 16.7%, p < 0.001, respectively). In the male group, the mean calculated ten-year risk of fatal cardiovascular events, the percentage of high calculated risk, and very high risk were higher in the EoUS group compared to controls (M±SD 4.44±3.49 vs. 4.23±3.86, p = 0.001; 23.7% vs. 20.2%, p = 0.007; 7.4% vs. 6.5%, p = 0.03, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of all identified risk factors was found to be higher among employees of uniformed services when compared to the control group. The presence of these risk factors within the population of uniformed service employees results in a greater risk of mortality from cardiovascular diseases. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2023;36(5):656-71.

Stress at work: The case of municipal police officers

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE:

Occupational stress-related factors among working municipal police officers in Poland have not been examined in the literature. The purpose of the paper was to evaluate the impact of selected work-related factors on occupational stress in active municipal police officers in Warsaw by using configural frequency analysis (CFA).

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 578 participants, which accounted for 55.1% of all municipal police officers in Warsaw. The majority of study participants were men (72%) (mean age 43 years old). Two groups of workplace-related stress factors were analysed in the study: physical conditions and organisational working conditions causing stress. The study was carried out using the PAPI method (Paper-and-Pencil Interviewing), based on a proprietary questionnaire developed for the study. CFA searches for templates and patterns in contingency tables.

RESULTS:

Municipal police officers who claimed that stress did not affect health, took advantage of psychological/psychiatric advice less often than those who thought so (1.7% vs 10.1%; χ2 = 20.152, df = 2, P = 0.000). Those who declared that they often experienced stress at work were also more prone to claiming that one or two factors affected their level of stress: physical abuse, contact with infectious materials, working at uncomfortable temperatures or working in a noisy environment. In the opinion of the study population, there were some factors which contributed to the occurrence of stress at work, and these factors included: working in a hurry, lack of necessary resources, devices and materials at work, the need to be available at all times and the unpredictability of the work. The municipal police officers from the study population combined two or three methods to cope with stress, such as watching TV, surfing the Internet and talking with their families.

CONCLUSION:

Due to the specificity of a municipal police officer’s occupation, special attention should be paid to the occupational stress risk factors characteristic for this group of professionals, and measures should be taken to reduce the number of stressors. It is important to organise training events devoted to effective methods of coping with stress. There is need to carry out more in-depth studies of occupational stress among municipal police officers.

Conducting HIV Seroprevalence and Behavioral Epidemiology Risk Surveys (SABERS) Among Partner Military Populations

BACKGROUND

Characterizing HIV infection and associated risk behaviors within military populations is critical for understanding the epidemic and informing prevention activities. However, the prevalence of HIV and related risk behaviors is often unknown. Further, militaries may not have the systems in place or the staff expertise to conduct HIV surveillance and risk behavior studies.

METHODS

The Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program (DHAPP), funded by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the US Department of Defense, provides technical assistance, management and administrative support for HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment for approximately 65 partner militaries. Collaborating with partner militaries in conducting Seroprevalence and Behavioral Epidemiology Risk Surveys (SABERS) and using the data to monitor the epidemic and inform activities is a key component of DHAPP.

CONCLUSION

This paper describes the methodology used to plan, adapt, implement and report SABERS studies.

[Temperament vs. chronic fatigue in police officers]

BACKGROUND

Chronic fatigue is a problem affecting a still growing number of people. Among them there are representatives of different professions who are forced to cope not only with occupational stress, but also with the problem of fatigue. The police is one of such occupational groups, in which exposure to stressful and often traumatic situations, contact with those who violate the law, shift work and contact with superiors can play a key role in the development of chronic fatigue. However, chronic fatigue, induced by the above mentioned factors, does not affect all police officers since its occurrence also depends on many personal traits, including temperament.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We studied a group of 61 police officers of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian garrison. The study was conducted using the Buss and Plomin EAS (emotionality, activity, sociability) Temperament Questionnaire, CIS-20R (community, innovation, survey) Questionnaire, developed by Vercoulen et al. and a questionnaire on socio-demographic data.

RESULTS

The results indicated the relationship between chronic fatigue and emotionality. Statistical analyses showed a negative correlation between the nature of emotional components, distress, fear, anger, and the general rate of chronic fatigue. There was no statistically significant correlation between age, and service experience and the level of chronic fatigue.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate that the officers of the study group show dramatically high levels of chronic fatigue. The results also revealed that temperament characteristics, such as sociability and activity, reported in the literature as factors reducing fatigue and stress, did not show relevance to chronic fatigue in the study group.