Paper
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Cardiovascular Morbidity in Retirees of the Milwaukee Police Department
Sandra L. Ramey, PhD, RN, College of Nursing, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| Learning Objective #1: identify 3 risk factors with increased prevalence in law enforcement officers. |
| Learning Objective #2: describe 2 aspects of the relationship among CVD development, stress and several conventional risk factors. |
It remains unclear if law enforcement officers (LEOs) experience elevated cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and risk and, if so, whether their profession contributes to the prevalence. There are over 17,000 criminal justice agencies in the United States, employing over 800,000 sworn officers. Consequently, identifying job-related sources of illness is a crucial step toward developing appropriate interventions that will reduce the high prevalence of CVD. The self-reported prevalence of CVD (coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, stroke) and CVD risk factors (diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, elevated body mass index (³ 25.0 kg x m2), physical inactivity and tobacco use) in 190 retirees > 43 years [(mean = 56.1 years, SD= 7.04); range 43-84 years] from the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) were compared with 1,365 respondents to the 2005 Wisconsin Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) of similar age [mean = 54.3 years, SD = 8.27]. CVD prevalence was higher in the MPD retirees than the general population (15.8% vs. 6.4% p < 0.001). Using multiple logistic regression factors found to be associated with CVD included the profession of law enforcement (odds ratio [OR] = 1.71; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 1.05-2.80); diabetes (OR = 3.51; 95% CI = 2.17-5.69); hypercholesterolemia (OR = 3.05; 95% CI = 1.94-4.80); hypertension (OR = 3.13. 95% CI = 2.01- 4.99); tobacco use (OR = 2.10; 95% CI = 1.35-3.25.) These results suggest that employment in law enforcement is associated with increased CVD morbidity and this relationship persists after considering several conventional risk factors. With an aging workforce and an increase in the number of years workers remain employed; these results support the need for strategic intervention development directed toward CVD risk and morbidity reduction. Nurses are in key positions to facilitate this intervention.