A recent study we conducted
indicated that police officers have a higher risk for heart disease than does the general population. In basic terms, police
officers are four years ahead of the average citizen in the progression of heart disease. We based this estimate on
the thickness of the carotid artery, comparing officers and citizens.
These findings suggest
that police officers should indeed pay more attention to modifiable heart disease risk factors such as diet, exercise and
smoking. However, our study also suggests that modifiable risk factors are only a part of the problem of increased heart
disease risk in police work. It appears that there are other factors in this occupation which increase heart disease
risk- factors not present in the population sample. One of those factors is the chronic and sometimes traumatic stress
that police officers are exposed to during the course of their career.
Based on our thoughts on this, we are presently
examining cortisol (stress hormone) in officers to determine if chronic stress upsets the proper secretion of this hormone.
So far, we are finding in our research that stress does play a role in upsetting the delicate regulation of cortisol
in officers, which opens them up for immune system suppression and subsequent increased risk for disease. The fact
that police officers are exposed to stress, death, crime, and human misery much more often than the general public adds to
this problem.
Article from Badge of Life.com
