Is Job-Related Stress the Link Between Cardiovascular Disease and the Law Enforcement Profession?

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ekkekakis P ; Franke WD ; Kohut ML ; Russell DW ; Yoo HL
• Description:
  Law enforcement officers (LEO) have an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) that is not entirely due to traditional CVD risk factors. CVD is increasingly recognized as an inflammatory disease and psychological stress can create a pro-inflammatory environment. However, it is unclear whether job - related stress in this profession contributes to CVD via this mechanism. PURPOSE: To test whether law enforcement officers have a higher risk of CVD due to alterations in pro- and anti-atherogenic inflammatory mediators which are associated with job-related stress. METHODS: Participants were 444 officers of the Iowa Department of Public Safety and 166 demographically similar non-officers. The inflammatory mediators of C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, IL-1B, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-a; stress measures of self-reported perceived stress, vital exhaustion, job strain, effort-reward imbalance, social support; and CVD risk via the Framingham Risk Score and components of the metabolic syndrome were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The two groups did not differ in either global CVD risk or metabolic syndrome risk factors. Officers had higher levels of IL-1B, IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-a and lower levels of C-reactive protein and fibrinogen. They reported higher effort-reward imbalance but lower perceived stress, job strain and vital exhaustion. None of the stress measures explained more than 4% of the variability in any of the inflammatory mediators for the entire sample or for either group of participants. CONCLUSIONS: Law enforcement officers may be at an increased risk for CVD due to a relatively greater pro-inflammatory vascular environment. However, this increased risk cannot be attributed to either chronic stress or the work-related stress measures. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Law Enforcement Occupational Health Safety Stress, Psychological
• Keywords:
  Cardiovascular Disease Job Stress Law Enforcement Law Enforcement Workers Police Officers Psychological Stress
• ISSN:
  0195-9131
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Iowa ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  42
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20058921
• Citation:
  Med Sci Sports Exerc 2010 May; 42(5)(Suppl 1):586
• Email:
  wfranke@iastate.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• Performing Organization:
  Iowa State University
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20060901
• Source Full Name:
  Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
• Supplement:
  1
• End Date:
  20090831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7ea0a2fb378d24648810e7d1098428ecc6bfaae0812feb9d011c9932bd77b24349bdc241533bfa6ea22198763af8317407c281f84f85ec22d4b613fe86114d05
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/223279/cdc_223279_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 93.37 KB ]