Non-cancer occupational health risks in firefighters

Crawford, Joanne; Graveling, Richard

doi:10.1093/occmed/kqs116

Cited by 23 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…In 2007, an International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) working group reported elevated summary relative risk estimates for testicular cancer, prostate cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in a meta-analysis of cancer in firefighters and concluded, based on limited evidence, that occupational exposure as a firefighter is possibly carcinogenic to humans (ie, categorised as Group 2B) 1. The literature includes several studies published since the IARC monograph 2–16. Nevertheless, findings still differ among specific cancer sites; perhaps from heterogeneity in exposures, work practices, personal protective equipment use or simply from chance alone 17…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mortality in a cohort of US firefighters from San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia: an update

et al. 2020

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ObjectivesTo update the mortality experience of a previously studied cohort of 29 992 US urban career firefighters compared with the US general population and examine exposure-response relationships within the cohort.MethodsVital status was updated through 2016 adding 7 years of follow-up. Cohort mortality compared with the US population was evaluated via life table analyses. Full risk-sets, matched on attained age, race, birthdate and fire department were created and analysed using the Cox proportional hazards regression to examine exposure-response associations between select mortality outcomes and exposure surrogates (exposed-days, fire-runs and fire-hours). Models were adjusted for a potential bias from healthy worker survivor effects by including a categorical variable for employment duration.ResultsCompared with the US population, mortality from all cancers, mesothelioma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and cancers of the oesophagus, intestine, rectum, lung and kidney were modestly elevated. Positive exposure-response relationships were observed for deaths from lung cancer, leukaemia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).ConclusionsThis update confirms previous findings of excess mortality from all cancers and several site-specific cancers as well as positive exposure-response relations for lung cancer and leukaemia. New findings include excess NHL mortality compared with the general population and a positive exposure-response relationship for COPD. However, there was no evidence of an association between any quantitative exposure measure and NHL.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mortality in a cohort of US firefighters from San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia: an update

et al. 2020

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“…These working conditions put them at risk of various health problems. [1][2][3] Sleep disorders are also very common in the firefighters due to multiple factors. 4,5 Considering the work-related dangers firefighters are constantly exposed to, it is highly likely that sleep disorders in this occupation may lead to serious work-related accidents.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sleep Patterns of Firefighters with Shift Working Schedules in Seoul Metropolitan Area

Kim¹,

Jung²,

Choi³

et al. 2017

Sleep Med Res

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Background and ObjectiveaaFirefighters suffer from irregular and inadequate sleep, often due to their shift work schedule. The purpose of this study was to investigate the shift work schedules and their effects on the quality of sleep in Korean firefighters. MethodsaaThis study included firefighters in the Seoul Metropolitan area, who participated in the "Firefighters' Healing Camp" and answered questionnaires for their shift work schedules and sleeprelated symptoms. Among 180 participating firefighters, 110 subjects completed detailed sleep questionnaires, which included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Insomnia Severity Index, the Epworth Sleepiness Score, the Stanford Sleepiness Score, the Fatigue Severity Scale, and the Berlin Questionnaire, and provided details of their shift work schedule and duration for the last 3 weeks. resultsaaAmong 110 respondents, 78.2% self-reported sleep disturbance and approximately 60% of the participating firefighters had a certain degree of insomnia. Furthermore, more than 50% of the firefighters complained of excessive daytime sleepiness, with 31.8% having a risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The firefighters in the frequent night-shift (NS) working pattern (5 or more days for 3 weeks), showed significantly higher Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index global score than those in the infrequent (less than 5 days) NS group (8.8 ± 3.6 vs. 6.7 ± 2.7, p = 0.014). However, the frequent NS working pattern was not associated with excessive daytime sleepiness or OSA risk. ConclusionsaaThe participating firefighters reported a high prevalence of various sleep problems. Frequent NS working may be responsible for poor sleep quality in firefighters. Sleep Med res 2017;8(2):68-75

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“…Furthermore, all but one 17 of the studies cited 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 19 20 21 found that high sound pressure levels damage the auditory system, and the veracity of the exceptional study was questioned 18 . These findings indicate that there is a necessity for preventive measures to be adopted by this population since it is considered to be at risk.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a literature review of health problems experienced by firefighters, hearing loss, hip osteoarthritis, and sarcoidosis were identified as being more common. Hearing loss was found in an additional 5 studies and other diseases were identified in 2 studies 21 .…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Firefighters' noise exposure: A literature review

Taxini

Guida

2014

Int. Arch. Otorhinolaryngol.

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Summary Aim: To review the literature about the effects of environmental noise on the hearing ability of firefighters. Method: The PubMed and Scielo databases were searched and studies from 2002 to 2012 that included the keywords firefighters, noise, and hearing loss were identified. Initially, 24 studies were selected, but only 10 met the inclusion criteria of investigating the effects of occupational noise on firefighters. Results: Only 2 (20%) studies quantified levels of sound pressure and performed audiological tests to identify associations with noise intensity and 3 (30%) questionnaire-based studies reported that these professionals are more susceptible to hearing loss. Four (50%) studies found that noise exposure damages the auditory system in this population. Discussion: These findings indicate that there is a necessity for preventive measures to be adopted by this population since it is considered to be at risk. Conclusion: In recent years, there have been few studies of firefighters' exposure to occupational noise, but our findings show the importance of new studies that include proper means of quantifying their exposure to noise in different work environments, in order to identify possible adverse conditions as well as to aid in the diagnosis of hearing loss.

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Non-cancer occupational health risks in firefighters

Abstract: None of the sets of papers reviewed showed any consistent association between the occupation of firefighter and any of a number of non-cancer disease and ill-health outcomes.

Cited by 23 publications

References 31 publications

Mortality in a cohort of US firefighters from San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia: an update

Mortality in a cohort of US firefighters from San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia: an update

Sleep Patterns of Firefighters with Shift Working Schedules in Seoul Metropolitan Area

Firefighters' noise exposure: A literature review

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