Occupation and three-year incidence of respiratory symptoms and lung function decline: the ARIC Study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Specific occupations are associated with adverse respiratory health. Inhalation exposures encountered in these jobs may place workers at risk of new-onset respiratory disease.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We analyzed data from 8,967 participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study, a longitudinal cohort study. Participants included in this analysis were free of chronic cough and phlegm, wheezing, asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and other chronic lung conditions at the baseline examination, when they were aged 45-64 years. Using data collected in the baseline and first follow-up examination, we evaluated associations between occupation and the three-year incidence of cough, phlegm, wheezing, and airway obstruction and changes in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁) and forced vital capacity (FVC) measured by spirometry. All associations were adjusted for age, cigarettes per day, race, smoking status, and study center.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>During the approximately three-year follow-up, the percentage of participants developing chronic cough was 3%; chronic phlegm, 3%; wheezing, 3%; and airway obstruction, defined as FEV₁< lower limit of normal (LLN) and FEV₁/FVC < LLN, 2%. The average annual declines in FEV₁and FVC were 56 mL and 66 mL, respectively, among men and 40 mL and 52 mL, respectively, among women. Relative to a referent category of managerial and administrative support occupations, elevated risks of new-onset chronic cough and chronic phlegm were observed for mechanics and repairers (chronic cough: RR: 1.81, 95% CI: 1.02, 3.21; chronic phlegm: RR: 2.10, 95% CI: 1.23, 3.57) and cleaning and building service workers (chronic cough: RR: 1.85, 95% CI: 1.01, 3.37; chronic phlegm: RR: 2.28, 95% CI: 1.27, 4.08). Despite the elevated risk of new-onset symptoms, employment in cleaning and building services was associated with attenuated lung function decline, particularly among men, who averaged annual declines in FEV₁and FVC of 14 mL and 23 mL, respectively, less than the declines observed in the referent population.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Employment in mechanic and repair jobs and cleaning and building service occupations are associated with increased incidence of respiratory symptoms. Specific occupations affect the respiratory health of adults without pre-existing respiratory health symptoms and conditions, though long-term health consequences of inhalation exposures in these jobs remain largely unexplored.</p

Associations of objectively measured and self-reported sleep duration with carotid artery intima media thickness among police officers

BACKGROUND: We aimed to examine the association of objectively measured and self-reported sleep duration with carotid artery intima media thickness (IMT) among 257 police officers, a group at high risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). METHODS: Sleep duration was estimated using actigraphic data and through self-reports. The mean maximum IMT was the average of the largest 12 values scanned bilaterally from three angles of the near and far wall of the common carotid, bulb, and internal carotid artery. Linear and quadratic regression models were used to assess the association of sleep duration with IMT. RESULTS: Officers who had fewer than 5 or 8 hr or more of objectively measured sleep duration had significantly higher maximum IMT values, independent of age. Self-reported sleep duration was not associated with either IMT measure. CONCLUSION: Attainment of sufficient sleep duration may be considered as a possible strategy for atherosclerosis prevention among police officers

Mental Health Treatment Reported by US Workers before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic: United States (2019&ndash;2020)

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced a significant and unprecedented exacerbation of community mental health challenges. We compared the prevalence of mental health treatment (MHT) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic among US workers. Self-reported MHT data (N = 30,680) were obtained from the Sample Adult data of the National Health Interview Survey (2019 and 2020). MHT was defined as having taken prescription medications for mental health issues or receiving counseling from a mental health professional in the past 12 months. We calculated age-adjusted prevalence estimates and employed t-tests to compare MHT in 2019 and 2020 using SAS-callable SUDAAN 11.0. The prevalence of MHT significantly increased from 16.3% in 2019 to 17.6% in 2020 (difference = 1.3, p = 0.030). The prevalence of taking prescription medications for mental health issues significantly increased in 2020 compared to 2019 (12.5% to 13.6%, difference = 1.1, p = 0.037). The prevalence of receiving counseling significantly increased but only among those who worked 30&ndash;49 h/week, difference = 1.2, p = 0.022. US workers, especially those with typical work hours, appeared to experience higher mental distress during the first year of the pandemic compared to the year prior to the pandemic period. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to address mental health issues in these workers

Associations between Psychological Distress and Body Mass Index among Law Enforcement Officers: The National Health Interview Survey 2004-2010

Objectives: To investigate the association between psychological distress and obesity among law enforcement officers (LEOs) in the United States. Methods: Self-reported data on psychological distress based on six key questions were obtained from LEOs who participated in the National Health Interview Survey (2004-2010). We used Prochaska's cut-point of a Kessler 6 score ≥ 5 for moderate/high mental distress in our analysis. Mean levels of body mass index (BMI) were compared across three levels of psychological distress. Results: The average age of LEOs (n = 929) was 39.3 years; 25% were female. Overall, 8.1% of LEOs had moderate or high psychological distress; 37.5% were obese (BMI ≥ 30). Mean BMI increased with increasing psychological distress (no distress, BMI = 27.2 kg/m2; mild distress, 27.6 kg/m2; and moderate/high distress, 33.1 kg/m2; p = 0.016) after adjustment for age, race, income, and education level among female officers only. Physical activity modified the association between psychological distress and BMI but only among male LEOs (interaction p = 0.002). Among male LEOs reporting low physical activity, psychological distress was positively associated with BMI (30.3 kg/m2 for no distress, 30.7 for mild distress, 31.8 for moderate/high distress; p = 0.179) after adjustment, but not significantly. This association was not significant among males reporting high physical activity. Conclusion: Mean BMI significantly increased as psychological distress increased among female LEOs. A longitudinal study design may reveal the directionality of this association as well as the potential role that physical activity might play in this association

Associations of Depressive Symptoms and Brachial Artery Reactivity among Police Officers

Objectives: Mental health has been shown to be linked with certain underlying physiological mechanisms. The objective of this cross sectional study was to investigate the relationship between depressive symptoms and brachial artery reactivity (BAR) in an understudied population: police officers. Methods: Participants were 351 police officers who were clinically examined in the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Police Stress (BCOPS) study. BAR was performed using standard B-Mode ultrasound procedures. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) scale. Mean values of the difference between the baseline and maximum diameters of the brachial artery were determined across three categories of CES-D score using the analysis of variance and the analysis of covariance. p-values for linear trends were obtained from linear regression models. Results: The mean age (± standard deviation) of all officers was 40.9 ± 7.2 years. Women had a slightly higher mean CES-D score than men (8.9 ± 8.9 vs. 7.4 ± 6.4) and a slightly higher percentage increase of BAR than men (6.90 vs. 5.26%). Smoking status significantly modified the associations between depressive symptoms and BAR. Among current smokers, mean absolute values of BAR significantly decreased as depressive symptoms increased after adjustment for age, gender, race/ethnicity, hypertension, and diabetes; the multivariate-adjusted p-values were 0.033 (absolute) and 0.040 (%). Associations between depressive symptoms and BAR were not statistically significant among former smokers or never smokers. Conclusion: Depressive symptoms were inversely associated with BAR among police officers who were current smokers and together may be considered a risk factor for cardiovascular disease among police officers. Further prospective research is warranted