Details:

Alternative Title:
Occup Med (Lond)
Personal Author:
Farioli, A. ; Yang, J. ; Teehan, D. ; Baur, D. M. ; Smith, D. L. ; ... More +
Farioli, A. ; Yang, J. ; Teehan, D. ; Baur, D. M. ; Smith, D. L. ; Kales, S. N. Less -
Description:
Background

Little is known regarding duty-related risks for sudden cardiac death (SCD) among young firefighters.

Aims

To investigate duty-related SCD among US firefighters aged 45 or younger.

Methods

We collected data on duty-related SCD from the US Fire Administration (USFA) and the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Two physicians independently reviewed each record. The proportions of time spent by firefighters performing specific duties were estimated from a municipal department, 17 large metropolitan departments and a national database. We estimated the duty-specific relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of SCD relative to non-emergency duties based on the observed deaths and the expected average proportions of time per duty.

Results

The USFA recorded 205 age-eligible on-duty SCDs between 1996 and 2012; 86 (42%) of these deaths and one additional SCD were investigated by NIOSH (total n = 206). NIOSH was more likely (P < 0.001) to report on SCD associated with physical training (69% of cases were investigated) and fire suppression (57%). Compared with non-emergency duties, the risk of SCD was increased for fire suppression (RR 22.1, 95% CI 14.8–32.9), alarm response (RR 2.6, 95% CI 1.5–4.6), alarm return (RR 4.1, 95% CI 2.7–6.2) and physical training (RR 4.8, 95% CI 3.2–7.2). RRs for SCD were higher among firefighters with a pre-existing history of a cardiac condition. All 16 SCDs associated with alarm response occurred among volunteer firefighters.

Conclusions

The performance of strenuous emergency duties is strongly associated with an increased risk of SCD among young firefighters, particularly among those with a history of cardiovascular disease.


Subjects:
[+]
Adult Cardiovascular Diseases Death, Sudden, Cardiac Emergencies Female Humans Male Occupational Diseases Occupational Health Rescue Work Risk Factors Work Schedule Tolerance
Source:
Occup Med (Lond). 64(6):428-435
Pubmed ID:
25104277
Pubmed Central ID:
PMC7811883
Document Type:
Journal Article
Funding:
T42 OH008416/OH/NIOSH CDC HHS/United States
Name as Subject:
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Place as Subject:
United States
Collection(s):
CDC Public Access
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:cc478df254409efa7a4cf7fa16b5b13b938b8553caf9b7ff4270f280678d9c18
Download URL:
https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/100692/cdc_100692_DS1.pdf
File Type:

Supporting Files

• 	nihms-1655278-f0001.gif	gif
  	nihms-1655278-f0001.jpg	jpeg
  	nihms-1655278.nxml	xml
  	NIHMS1655278-supplement-supplemental_table_1.doc	doc
  	NIHMS1655278-supplement-supplemental_table_2.doc	doc

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