Probable PTSD, depression and anxiety in 40,299 UK police officers and staff: Prevalence, risk factors and associations with blood pressure

Abstract

Introduction Police employees undertake challenging duties which may adversely impact their health. This study explored the prevalence of and risk factors for probable mental disorders amongst a representative sample of UK police employees. The association between mental illness and alterations in blood pressure was also explored. Methods Data were used from the Airwave Health Monitoring Study which was established to monitor the possible physical health impacts of a new communication system on police employees. Data included sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle habits, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and blood pressure. Descriptive statistics were used to explore the prevalence of probable mental disorders and associated factors. Stepwise linear regression was conducted, controlling for confounding variables, to examine associations between mental disorders and blood pressure. Results The sample included 40,299 police staff, police constable/sergeants and inspectors or above. Probable depression was most frequently reported (9.8%), followed by anxiety (8.5%) and PTSD (3.9%). Groups at risk for probable mental disorders included police staff, and police employees who reported drinking heavily. Police employees exposed to traumatic incidents in the past six months had a doubling in rates of anxiety or depression and a six-fold increase in PTSD compared to those with no recent trauma exposure. Adjusted logistic regression models did not reveal any significant association between probable mental disorders and systolic blood pressure but significantly elevated diastolic blood pressure (≈1mmHg) was found across mental disorders. Conclusions These results show lower rates of probable mental disorders, especially PTSD, than reported in other studies focusing on police employees. Although mental ill health was associated with increased diastolic blood pressure, this was unlikely to be clinically significant. These findings highlight the importance of continued health monitoring of members of the UK police forces, focusing on employees recently exposed to traumatic incidents, heavy drinkers and police staff.

Traditional Male Role Norms, Social Support, and Symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Among Male Polish Police Officers

“…McNally (2006), Davidson and Moss (2008), and Lee et al (2016a) got similar results in their research. However, other studies show that intensification of PTSD can be observed in less than a fifth of the rate found in the current study (Carlier et al 1997;Stevelink et al 2020). The research into a group of Polish police officers conducted by Dudek (2003) shows that 5% of police officers were diagnosed with PTSD.…”

The Role of Single Nucleotide Variants of NOS1, NOS2, and NOS3 Genes in the Development of the Phenotype of Migraine and Arterial Hypertension

“…psychogenic mechanism (stress, anxiety, and psycho-emotional fatigue can provoke both the development of a M attack [42,43] and an episode of increased blood pressure [44,45]); -vascular mechanism (vasodilation is one of the leading mechanisms for the development of M [46], and some antihypertensive drugs can cause excessive vasodilation of cerebral arteries and veins, leading to the development of migraine-like H [47]); -biochemical mechanism (for example, NO-dependent vasospasm (impaired NOdependent vasodilation) [46,48]).…”

Characteristics of Sleep Paralysis and Its Association with Anxiety Symptoms, Perceived Stress, PTSD, and Other Variables Related to Lifestyle in Selected High Stress Exposed Professions

“…However, based on scientific articles, we find that healthcare professionals working in shifts, policemen, and firefighters are more likely to experience sleep problems [15,[17][18][19][20][21][22]. These professional groups belong to occupations at high risk of stress [23][24][25][26][27][28]. They are burdened with greater exposure to stress and high social pressure due to their functions, and thus an increased risk of developing anxiety and sleep disorders [17][18][19][23][24][25][26][27][28].…”