Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in a population of French firefighters

Abstract

Firefighters’ activities increase the risk of sudden cardiac events. The main objective of this study was to describe the Loire firefighters’ cardiovascular risk factors according to their cardiovascular risk and to their professional status. A retrospective study of the entire population of firefighters of the Loire department was conducted. Risk factors derived from the data collected during the occupational health follow-up medical examinations were described and the cardiovascular risk was assessed for 417 firefighters. The most frequent cardiovascular risk factors were: overweight and obesity (62.1%), high blood pressure (27.8%) and active smoking (16,1%). There were no significant differences between career firefighters and volunteers. The prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular diseases is less than in the general population. Obesity remains the most common risk factor, especially among firefighters with high cardiovascular risk.

Keywords:

• Cardiovascular disease
• firefighters
• obesity
• occupational health
• risk factors

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Dr Frey Frédéric, fire chief medical officer for his contribution to the collect of data. The authors also wish to thank the Loire departmental fire and emergency service (DFES42).

Declaration of interest statement

None declared