TY - JOUR
T1 - Firefighters' blood pressure and employment status on hazardous materials teams in massachusetts
T2 - A prospective study
AU - Kales, Stefanos N.
AU - Soteriades, Elpidoforos S.
AU - Christoudias, Stavros G.
AU - Tucker, Scott A.
AU - Nicolaou, Michael
AU - Christiani, David C.
PY - 2002
Y1 - 2002
N2 - We evaluated the association between hypertension and changes in employment status in 334 hazardous materials firefighters. Firefighters were categorized by blood pressure (BP) at baseline (1996 or 1997) and subsequent follow-up examinations (1997, 1998, and 1999). They were followed up for a maximum of 4 years for possible adverse outcomes (death, placement on "injured-on-duty " status, termination of duty, resignation, retirement, or incident cardiovascular disease). In several analytic models, we found that firefighters with stage II hypertension (BP ≥ 160/100 mm Hg) were consistently 2 to 3 times more likely to experience an adverse outcome compared with those with normal BP. Cox proportional-hazards regression was used to adjust for age, body mass index, smoking, cholesterol, and antihypertensive medication. In these models, the hazard ratio for stage II hypertension was 3.2 (95 % confidence interval [CI], 1.50 to 7.04, P = 0.003) and for untreated stage II hypertension, it was 4.6 (95% CI, 2.08 to 10.11, P = 0.0002). Firefighters with a BP ≥ 160/100 mm Hg should receive further evaluation and demonstrate improved BP control before being determined fit for duty.
AB - We evaluated the association between hypertension and changes in employment status in 334 hazardous materials firefighters. Firefighters were categorized by blood pressure (BP) at baseline (1996 or 1997) and subsequent follow-up examinations (1997, 1998, and 1999). They were followed up for a maximum of 4 years for possible adverse outcomes (death, placement on "injured-on-duty " status, termination of duty, resignation, retirement, or incident cardiovascular disease). In several analytic models, we found that firefighters with stage II hypertension (BP ≥ 160/100 mm Hg) were consistently 2 to 3 times more likely to experience an adverse outcome compared with those with normal BP. Cox proportional-hazards regression was used to adjust for age, body mass index, smoking, cholesterol, and antihypertensive medication. In these models, the hazard ratio for stage II hypertension was 3.2 (95 % confidence interval [CI], 1.50 to 7.04, P = 0.003) and for untreated stage II hypertension, it was 4.6 (95% CI, 2.08 to 10.11, P = 0.0002). Firefighters with a BP ≥ 160/100 mm Hg should receive further evaluation and demonstrate improved BP control before being determined fit for duty.
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U2 - 10.1097/00043764-200207000-00014
DO - 10.1097/00043764-200207000-00014
M3 - Article
C2 - 12134531
AN - SCOPUS:0036066673
SN - 1076-2752
VL - 44
SP - 669
EP - 676
JO - Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
JF - Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
IS - 7
ER -