An often quoted study is that of Raub (1987) that compared State Police Retirees to actuarial standard tables in the state of Illinois. Some of the research suggests that there is no significant difference in life expectancy between police and geographically similar working populations. In a study of male and female police officers from Buffalo, NY and Spokane, WA, depressive symptoms were associated with an increasing number of metabolic syndrome components and with higher odds of having the individual metabolic syndrome components (increased odds of 47.6% for hypertriglyceridemia, 51.8% for hypertension, and 56.7% for glucose intolerance based on a 5-unit increase in depression score) among Spokane male police officers (Hartley, Fekedulegn, Barbosa-Leiker, Violanti, Andrew, & Burchfiel, 2012).ĭespite the increased risk for mortality found in previous research, controversy still exists over the life expectancy of police officers. general population ( Hartley, Burchfiel, Fekedulegn, Andrew, & Violanti, 2012). In addition to having higher risk for traditional cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, officers also have higher levels of non-traditional CVD risk factors, including a non-day shift, depression, and less sleep as compared to the U.S. Joseph and colleagues (2009) found that officers had increased levels of atherosclerosis when compared with a similarly aged civilian population sample from the same geographical region. The average age of death for officers was 66 years of age. Mortality from arteriosclerotic heart disease was slightly yet significantly elevated (SMR=1.20 95% CI=1.01-1.43) in officers with 10-19 years of service and represented the majority of excess deaths among diseases of the circulatory system. Mortality from all causes of death combined was significantly higher than the U.S. Results suggest that police officers have higher mortality rates from specific diseases and on average die earlier than the U.S. Violanti, Vena, and Petralia (1998) examined a 40-year police cohort of 2,593 officers (1950-1990). Bladder cancer death rates were significantly increased for patrol car drivers (odds ratio (OR) =5.14) and kidney cancer for motorcycle officers (OR=2.27). Forastiere, Perucci, DiPietro, Miceli, Rapiti, Bargagli, and Borgia(1994) studied a cohort of urban policemen in Rome, Italy, and found increased death rates for ischemic heart disease in officers less than 50 years of age, colon cancer (SMR=1.47), bladder cancer (SMR=1.27), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (SMR=1.51), and melanoma (SMR=2.34). and found police to have higher rates for all causes of death combined. Demers, Heyer and Rosenstock (1992) compared police and firefighters in three cities in the U.S. Feuer and Rosenman (1986) reported that police and firefighters in New Jersey had significantly increased proportionate mortality ratios (PMRs) for arteriosclerotic heart disease, digestive and skin cancers, and skin diseases. Vena, Violanti, Marshall, and Fiedler (1986) found that city of Buffalo, NY police officers had increased rates for arteriosclerotic heart disease, digestive cancers, cancers of the lymphatic and hematopoietic tissues, brain cancer, and esophageal cancer. Previous epidemiological research indicates that police officers have an increased risk for death above that of the general population from many types of disease. Policing in the United States presently consists of over 883,000 sworn officers and is projected to rise to 968,000 officers by 2018 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, ). Possible reasons for shorter life expectancy among police are discussed, including stress, shift work, obesity, and hazardous environmental work exposures. The years of potential life lost (YPLL) for police officers was 21 times larger than that of the general population (Buffalo male officers vs. Additionally, police officers had a significantly higher average probability of death than did males in the general population (mean difference= 0.40 95% CI: 0.26,-0.54 p<0.0001). Life expectancy of police officers was shorter and differences were more pronounced in younger age categories. On average, the life expectancy of Buffalo police officers in our sample was significantly lower than the U.S. general male population utilizing an abridged life table method. The goal of the present study was to compare life expectancy of male police officers from Buffalo New York with the U.S. Despite the increased risk for mortality found in previous research, controversy still exists over the life expectancy of police officers. Previous epidemiological research indicates that police officers have an elevated risk of death relative to the general population overall and for several specific causes.
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