Shiftwork and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Police Officers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Allison P ; Andrew, Michael E. ; Fekedulegn D ; Jenkins EN ; Mnatsakanova A ; Violanti JM
• Description:
  Purpose: Shiftwork is a necessity in the police occupation. Shiftwork may be accompanied by circadian rhythm disruption and changes in body functions, including those that influence mental health. This study evaluated the association between shiftwork and symptoms of anxiety and depression in urban police officers. Methods: Cross-sectional data were from the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) study, 2004-09. Electronic work history records were used to identify the dominant work shift [day (D), afternoon (A), or night (N)]. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed with the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II). Analysis of covariance was used to examine trends in mean symptom scores across shift. Models were adjusted for age, gender, race/ethnicity, smoking status, alcohol intake, sleep quality, and overtime hours. Results: Among 361 officers (73.1% men), day shift officers had the highest adjusted mean anxiety symptom score (D:7.54 +/- 0.57, A:6.38 +/- 0.72, N:4.84 +/- 0.74; p=0.023). Differences in adjusted mean depressive symptom scores across shift were not significant (D:6.99 +/- 0.48, A:5.39 +/- 0.61, N:5.27 +/- 0.64; p=0.067). Similar to anxiety symptoms, day shift officers had the highest adjusted mean depressive symptom score. Conclusion: Although higher police-specific work stress has been associated with the afternoon and night shifts in this group of officers, day shift officers had the highest anxiety and depressive symptoms in the current study. Our results may indicate a tendency for officers with anxiety and depressive symptoms to self-select to day shift or departmental assignment to day shift as a more tolerable shift for officers prone to or exhibiting symptoms. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Circadian Rhythm Law Enforcement Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Shift Work Schedule
• Keywords:
  Circadian Rhythms Cross Sectional Studies Law Enforcement Workers Mental Health Police Officers Psychological Effects Shift Work Work Schedules
• ISSN:
  1047-2797
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• 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:
  76
• Volume:
  36
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20064611
• Citation:
  Ann Epidemiol 2019 Aug; 36:76
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• Performing Organization:
  State University of New York at Buffalo
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20150901
• Source Full Name:
  Annals of Epidemiology
• End Date:
  20190831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:24a15f4477acca1b007c847164bc61c19b7185c707f43b60d776ae321feb97f658af6fac57878720d3f770f29443f15e0ed2558279ffb121e2eca949090d0c2e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/223045/cdc_223045_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 278.88 KB ]