Top

International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health

Published in:

01-03-2011 | Original Article

Stress and cardiovascular disease risk in female law enforcement officers

Authors: Hyelim Yoo, Warren D. Franke

Published in: International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health | Issue 3/2011

Abstract

Purpose

To assess the levels of stress and the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in female law enforcement officers (LEOs).

Methods

Self-reported data including job-related stress and CVD risk factors were obtained from 65 female LEOs. Stress scores were compared with 429 males LEOs and CVD risk factors were compared with 1,213 demographically similar female respondents to the CDC BRFSS survey. All subjects resided in Iowa.

Results

Female LEOs had more stress (perceived stress, p < 0.01), more job-related stress (job strain, vital exhaustion and effort–reward imbalance, p < 0.01 for all), but similar social support (social provision scale, p = 0.412) than male LEOs. Female LEOs had a significantly higher prevalence of hypercholesterolemia than the general Iowa female population (46.2 vs. 29.3%, p < 0.01). There was a trend towards a higher prevalence of diabetes in female LEOs (9.2 vs. 4.5%, p = 0.084). The most commonly cited contributor to their perceived CVD risk was stress (77%). Female LEOs who felt that being either a LEO (67.7%) or a female LEO (41.5%) contributed to their risk for chronic diseases had more stress and a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity than female LEOs who felt differently.

Conclusions

Female LEOs have higher stress than male LEOs. The prevalences of hypercholesterolemia and diabetes are higher in female LEOs than that of the general female population. Thus, female LEOs may be at a greater risk for CVD than their male counterparts.

Association Heart Association (AHA) Heart attack/coronary heart disease risk assessment. Retrieved from http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3003499#framingham Accessed 10 August 2009

Avis NE, Smith KW, McKinlay JB (1989) Accuracy of perceptions of heart attack risk: what influences perceptions and can they be changed? Am J Public Health 79:1608–1612CrossRef

Bays HE, Chapman RH, Fox KM, Grandy S (2008) Comparison of self-reported survey (SHIELD) versus NHANES data in estimating prevalence of dyslipidemia. Curr Med Res Opin 24:1179–1186CrossRef

Björntorp P, Rosmond R (1999) Hypothalamic origin of the metabolic syndrome X. Ann N Y Acad Sci 892:297–307CrossRef

Bosma H, Marmot MG, Hemingway H, Nicholson AC, Brunner E, Stansfeld SA (1997) Low job control and risk of coronary heart disease in Whitehall II (prospective cohort) study. Br Med J 314:558–565

Centers for Disease Control, Prevention (CDC) (2007a) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey Data. US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta

Centers for Disease Control, Prevention (CDC) (2007b) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey Questionnaire. US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta

Centre for Occupational, Environmental Health (COEH) (2000) Occupational Physicians Reporting Activity. Quarterly Report. University of Manchester, Manchester

Chandola T, Brunner E, Marmot M (2006) Chronic stress at work and the metabolic syndrome: prospective study. Br Med J 332:521–525CrossRef

Cohen S, Kamarck T, Mermelstein R (1983) A global measure of perceived stress. J Health Soc Behav 24:385–396CrossRef

Cohen S, Williamson G (1988) Perceived stress in a probability sample of the United States. Sage, California, pp 31–67

Cutrona CE, Russell DW (1987) The provisions of social relationships and adaptation to stress. Adv Pers Relat 1:37–67

Dubrow R, Burnett CA, Gute DM, Brockert JE (1988) Ischemic heart-disease and acute myocardial-infarction mortality among police officers. J Occup Environ Med 30:650–654CrossRef

Franco OH, Steyerberg EW, Hu FB, Mackenbach J, Nusselder W (2007) Associations of diabetes mellitus with total life expectancy and life expectancy with and without cardiovascular disease. Arch Intern Med 167:1145–1151CrossRef

Franke WD, Collins SA, Hinz PN (1998) Cardiovascular disease morbidity in an Iowa law enforcement cohort, compared with the general Iowa population. J Occup Environ Med 40:441–444CrossRef

Franke WD, Ramey SL, Shelley MC (2002) Relationship between cardiovascular disease morbidity, risk factors, and stress in a law enforcement cohort. J Occup Environ Med 44:1182–1189CrossRef

Gershon RR, Lin S, Li X (2002) Work stress in aging police officers. J Occup Environ Med 44:160–167CrossRef

Hart PL (2005) Women’s perceptions of coronary heart disease: an integrative review. J Cardiovasc Nurs 20:170–176

Haskell WL, Lee IM, Pate RR, Powell KE, Blair SN, Franklin BA et al (2007) Physical activity and public health: updated recommendation for adults from the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association. Med Sci Sports Exerc 39:1423–1434CrossRef

Hayes SN (2006) Preventing cardiovascular disease in women. Am Fam Physician 74:1331–1340

Herrington P (2002) Advice to women beginning a career in policing. Women Crim Justice 14:1–13CrossRef

Karasek R, Baker D, Marxer F, Ahlbom A, Theorell T (1981) Job decision latitude, job demands, and cardiovascular disease: a prospective study of Swedish men. Am J Public Health 71:694–705CrossRef

Karasek R, Brisson C, Kawakami N, Houtman I, Bongers P, Amick B (1998) The Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ): an instrument for internationally comparative assessments of psychosocial job characteristics. J Occup Health Psychol 3:322–355CrossRef

Kop WJ (1999) Chronic and acute psychological risk factors for clinical manifestations of coronary artery disease. Psychosom Med 61:476–487

Kop N, Euwema MC (2001) Occupational stress and the use of force by Dutch police officers. Crim Justice Behav 28:631–652CrossRef

Kopp MS, Falger PRJ, Appels A, Szedmak S (1998) Depressive symptomatology and vital exhaustion are differentially related to behavioral risk factors for coronary artery disease. Psychosom Med 60:752–758

Kurian AK, Cardarelli KM (2007) Racial and ethnic differences in cardiovascular disease risk factors: a systematic review. Ethn Dis 17:143–152

Morash M, Haarr RN (1995) Gender, workplace problems, and stress in policing. Justice Q 12:113–140CrossRef

National Center for Women and Policing (NCWP) (2002) Equality denied: the status of women in policing: 2001. Columbia University, New York

Peter R, Alfredsson L, Hammar N, Siegrist J, Theorell T, Westerholm P (1998) High effort, low reward, and cardiovascular risk factors in employed Swedish men and women: baseline results from the WOLF Study. J Epidemiol Commun Health 52:540–547CrossRef

Peter R, Siegrist J (1999) Chronic psychosocial stress at work and cardiovascular disease: the role of effort–reward imbalance. Int J Law Psychiatry 22:441–449CrossRef

Rabe-Hemp C (2008) Survival in an “all boys club”: policewomen and their fight for acceptance. Policing Int J Police Strateg Manage 31:251–270CrossRef

Ridker PM, Rifai N, Cook NR, Bradwin G, Buring JE (2005) Non-HDL cholesterol, apolipoproteins A-I and B100, standard lipid measures, lipid ratios, and CRP as risk factors for cardiovascular disease in women. JAMA 294:326–333CrossRef

Rosmond R, Björntorp P (2000) The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity as a predictor of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke. J Intern Med 247:188–197CrossRef

Rosmond R, Dallman M, Björntorp P (1998) Stress-related cortisol secretion in men: relationships with abdominal obesity and endocrine, metabolic and hemodynamic abnormalities. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 83:1853–1859CrossRef

Ross RM, Jackson AS (1990) Evaluating aerobic fitness. Benchmark Press, Ann Arbor, pp 83–121

Rozanski A, Blumenthal JA, Kaplan J (1999) Impact of psychological factors on the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease and implications for therapy. Circulation 99:2192–2217

Sultan CG, Townsey RD (1981) A progress report on women in policing. Police Foundation, Washington

Sundquist K, Qvist J, Johansson SE, Sundquist J (2005) The long-term effect of physical activity on incidence of coronary heart disease: a 12-year follow-up study. Prev Med 41:219–225CrossRef

Tennant C (2000) Work stress and coronary heart disease. J Cardiovasc Risk 7:273–276

Violanti J (2004) Dying for the job: stress and police mortality. Prentice-Hall, New York

Violanti JM, Aron F (1994) Ranking police stressors. Psychol Rep 75:824–826

Wilson PW, Meigs JB (2008) Cardiometabolic risk: a Framingham perspective. Int J Obes (Lond) 32(Suppl 2):S17–S20CrossRef

World Health Organization (WHO) (2002) WHO CVD-risk management package for low- and medium-resource settings. World Health Organization, Geneva

Yang L, Kuper H, Weiderpass E (2008) Anthropometric characteristics as predictors of coronary heart disease in women. J Intern Med 264:39–49CrossRef

Title: Stress and cardiovascular disease risk in female law enforcement officers
Authors: Hyelim Yoo
Warren D. Franke
Publication date: 01-03-2011
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
Published in: International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health / Issue 3/2011
Print ISSN: 0340-0131
Electronic ISSN: 1432-1246
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-010-0548-9

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Stress and cardiovascular disease risk in female law enforcement officers

Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusions

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 3/2011

Biological monitoring for occupational acrylamide exposure from acrylamide production workers

Effects of temperature on reductions in finger blood flow induced by vibration

PM10 air pollution exposure during pregnancy and term low birth weight in Allegheny County, PA, 1994–2000

Risk assessment of inhalation exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Taiwanese workers at night markets

The response of the human circulatory system to an acute 200-μT, 60-Hz magnetic field exposure

Internal exposure of hairdressers to permanent hair dyes: a biomonitoring study using urinary aromatic diamines as biomarkers of exposure