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Hypertension in the United States Fire Service

Hypertension is a major risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and cardiac remodeling and is associated with an increased risk of sudden cardiac events, the leading cause of duty-related death in the fire service. We assessed systemic blood pressures and prevalence of hypertension am...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Khaja, Saeed U., Mathias, Kevin C., Bode, Emilie D., Stewart, Donald F., Jack, Kepra, Moffatt, Steven M., Smith, Denise L.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8160987/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34069660
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18105432
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author Khaja, Saeed U.
Mathias, Kevin C.
Bode, Emilie D.
Stewart, Donald F.
Jack, Kepra
Moffatt, Steven M.
Smith, Denise L.
author_facet Khaja, Saeed U.
Mathias, Kevin C.
Bode, Emilie D.
Stewart, Donald F.
Jack, Kepra
Moffatt, Steven M.
Smith, Denise L.
author_sort Khaja, Saeed U.
collection PubMed
description Hypertension is a major risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and cardiac remodeling and is associated with an increased risk of sudden cardiac events, the leading cause of duty-related death in the fire service. We assessed systemic blood pressures and prevalence of hypertension among US firefighters by decade of life. Medical records of career firefighters (5063 males and 274 females) from four geographically diverse occupational health clinics were assessed. Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure ≥130 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≥80 mmHg, or taking antihypertensive medication. Results from the firefighter sample were compared to the US general population (2015–2016 and 2017–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys). Among the total sample, 69% of firefighters met the criteria for hypertension and 17% were taking antihypertensive medications. Percentages of hypertensive male and female firefighters were 45% and 11% among 20–29 years old, respectively, and increased to 78% and 79% among 50–59 years old, respectively. Compared to the general population, male firefighters had a higher prevalence of hypertension (p < 0.05) across all age groups (11–16% higher). In order to improve firefighter health and protect against sudden incapacitation in this public safety occupational group, increased efforts are necessary to screen for and manage high blood pressure.
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spelling pubmed-81609872021-05-29 Hypertension in the United States Fire Service Khaja, Saeed U. Mathias, Kevin C. Bode, Emilie D. Stewart, Donald F. Jack, Kepra Moffatt, Steven M. Smith, Denise L. Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Hypertension is a major risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and cardiac remodeling and is associated with an increased risk of sudden cardiac events, the leading cause of duty-related death in the fire service. We assessed systemic blood pressures and prevalence of hypertension among US firefighters by decade of life. Medical records of career firefighters (5063 males and 274 females) from four geographically diverse occupational health clinics were assessed. Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure ≥130 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≥80 mmHg, or taking antihypertensive medication. Results from the firefighter sample were compared to the US general population (2015–2016 and 2017–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys). Among the total sample, 69% of firefighters met the criteria for hypertension and 17% were taking antihypertensive medications. Percentages of hypertensive male and female firefighters were 45% and 11% among 20–29 years old, respectively, and increased to 78% and 79% among 50–59 years old, respectively. Compared to the general population, male firefighters had a higher prevalence of hypertension (p < 0.05) across all age groups (11–16% higher). In order to improve firefighter health and protect against sudden incapacitation in this public safety occupational group, increased efforts are necessary to screen for and manage high blood pressure. MDPI 2021-05-19 /pmc/articles/PMC8160987/ /pubmed/34069660 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18105432 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Khaja, Saeed U.
Mathias, Kevin C.
Bode, Emilie D.
Stewart, Donald F.
Jack, Kepra
Moffatt, Steven M.
Smith, Denise L.
Hypertension in the United States Fire Service
title Hypertension in the United States Fire Service
title_full Hypertension in the United States Fire Service
title_fullStr Hypertension in the United States Fire Service
title_full_unstemmed Hypertension in the United States Fire Service
title_short Hypertension in the United States Fire Service
title_sort hypertension in the united states fire service
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8160987/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34069660
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18105432
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