Life expectancy in police officers: a comparison with the U.S. general population

Details

• Personal Author:
  Andrew, Michael E. ; Burchfiel CM ; Fekedulegn D ; Gu JK ; Hartley TA ; Violanti JM
• Description:
  Previous epidemiological research indicates that police officers have an elevated risk of death relative to the general population overall and for several specific causes. Despite the increased risk for mortality found in previous research, controversy still exists over the life expectancy of police officers. The goal of the present study was to compare life expectancy of male police officers from Buffalo New York with the U.S. general male population utilizing an abridged life table method. On average, the life expectancy of Buffalo police officers in our sample was significantly lower than the U.S. population (mean difference in life expectancy =21.9 years; 95% CI: 14.5-29.3; p<0.0001). Life expectancy of police officers was shorter and differences were more pronounced in younger age categories. Additionally, police officers had a significantly higher average probability of death than did males in the general population (mean difference= 0.40; 95% CI: 0.26,-0.54; p<0.0001). The years of potential life lost (YPLL) for police officers was 21 times larger than that of the general population (Buffalo male officers vs. U.S. males = 21.7, 95% CI: 5.8-37.7). Possible reasons for shorter life expectancy among police are discussed, including stress, shift work, obesity, and hazardous environmental work exposures. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Epidemiology Law Enforcement Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Shift Work Schedule
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Police BCOPS Law Enforcement Life Expectancy Mental Health Mortality Police Officers Shift Work Stress Years Of Potential Life Los
• ISSN:
  1522-4821
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  217-228
• Volume:
  15
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20044842
• Citation:
  Int J Emerg Mental Health Hum Resil 2013 Oct-Dec; 15(4):217-228
• Contact Point Address:
  John M. Violanti, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY
• Email:
  violanti@buffalo.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• NORA Priority Area:
  Public Safety
• Performing Organization:
  State University of New York at Buffalo
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20100901
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Emergency Mental Health and Human Resilience
• End Date:
  20150831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:915d7d288e351147233033b852a0a56aa4aaf1839107efd1f9a561dc76a4dc467a72461da7c6dc32f92c900537c96614e6793ea17ca540fbb2e2f0bb55b93d7c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/200459/cdc_200459_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 838.59 KB ]