Metabolic Syndrome in Female Police Officers and Female Office Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study in Occupations with Different Physical Activities

Abstract

Introduction

Increase in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) has become a worldwide major health problem. So far, there are limited data about the impact of occupation types and the development of metabolic risks in females. This study aimed to compare the metabolic risk profiles and in two extremely different female occupational groups: police officers (PO) and office workers (OW).

Methods

The prospective study included a total number of 97 female subjects (37 POs and 60 OWs) from Germany. Anthropometric characteristics, metabolic risk parameters as well as laboratory parameters were taken. The diagnosis of MetS was based on the criteria of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF).

Results

Female OWs presented a high prevalence of obesity, shown in average abdominal waist circumference (85.3 ± 14.5 cm) above the threshold of ≥80 cm recommended by the IDF to define abdominal obesity. Sixty percent of OWs versus 25% of POs had an abnormal abdominal waist circumference. Concerning other metabolic risk factors (HDL, triglycerides, body mass index, blood pressure) no significant differences were found, but a tendency toward a higher prevalence of abnormal values is presented in OWs than POs. MetS was detected in almost 8% of OWs as compared with 5% in POs (p = 0.705).

Conclusion

In an international comparison, German female POs showed one of the lowest prevalence of MetS, whereas the prevalence in OWs is equal to results in other countries. In conclusion, especially the occupational type of female OWs presented elevated factors, that are associated with increased metabolic risk. There is a relevant need for further prospective studies with larger sample sizes in female workers to determine the influence between occupational type and metabolic system.

Keywords:

• female office worker
• female police officer
• metabolic syndrome
• metabolic risk factors
• metabolic risk

Abbreviations

BMI, body mass index; HDL, high-density-lipoprotein; IDF, International Diabetes Federation; MetS, metabolic syndrome; OW, office worker; PO, police officer; RR_sRest, resting systolic blood pressure; RR_dRest, resting diastolic blood pressure.

Data Sharing Statement

The datasets analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Acknowledgment

The authors thanks Hiltrud Niggemann for accuracy of the data analyses.

Author Contributions

Study conception and design: Markus Strauss, Peter Foshag, Roman Leischik. Data acquisition: Markus Strauss, Peter Foshag, Roman Leischik. Data analysis and interpretation: Markus Strauss, Peter Foshag, Roman Leischik, Richard Vollenberg Statistical analysis: Markus Strauss, Roman Leischik. Drafting the manuscript: Markus Strauss, Roman Leischik. Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: Markus Strauss, Peter Foshag, Anna Brzęk, Richard Vollenberg, Ulrich Jehn, Roman Leischik, Final approval of the version to be published: Markus Strauss, Peter Foshag, Anna Brzęk, Ulrich Jehn, Richard Vollenberg, Roman Leischik. Obtained funding: Roman Leischik. Administrative, technical, or material support: Markus Strauss, Peter Foshag, Roman Leischik.

All authors made substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; took part in drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; agreed to submit to the current journal; gave final approval of the version to be published; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

The authors declare that they have no competing interests for this work.

Additional information

Funding

We acknowledge support from the Open Access Publication Fund of the University of Muenster.