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Occupational Medicine Advance Access originally published online on July 3, 2009
Occupational Medicine 2009 59(7):487-492; doi:10.1093/occmed/kqp095
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Cardiorespiratory fitness and the metabolic syndrome in firefighters

Ryan Donovan1, Tracy Nelson1, Jennifer Peel2, Tiffany Lipsey1, Wyatt Voyles3 and Richard Gay Israel1

1 Department of Health and Exercise Science, Colorado State University, 220 Moby B-Complex, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1582, USA
2 Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
3 Heart Center of the Rockies, Fort Collins, CO, USA

Background The leading cause of mortality in on-duty firefighters is sudden cardiac death. While the reason for this remains unclear, low cardiorespiratory fitness and the metabolic syndrome have been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease-related events.

Aims To document the levels of cardiorespiratory fitness and the metabolic syndrome, as well as to determine if there is a relationship between these variables, in firefighters.

Methods Maximal cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed using the Bruce treadmill protocol in 214 male firefighters from Colorado. As part of a comprehensive cardiovascular disease risk evaluation, each firefighter was also screened for the metabolic syndrome using the National Cholesterol Education Program/Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP/ATP III) guidelines.

Results At the time of their evaluation, 32 firefighters (15%) met the NCEP/ATP III diagnostic criteria for the metabolic syndrome, and 54 firefighters (25%) failed to achieve a generally accepted minimum cardiorespiratory fitness level of 42.0 ml/kg/min. A significant inverse trend of increasing cardiorespiratory fitness with decreasing metabolic abnormalities was found (P < 0.001).

Conclusions Increased levels of cardiorespiratory fitness are associated with an improved metabolic profile in male firefighters. Comprehensive cardiovascular disease risk factor management and cardiorespiratory fitness improvement are essential for firefighter health and safety.

Keywords      Exercise; firefighters; heart disease

Correspondence to: Ryan Donovan, Department of Health and Exercise Science, Colorado State University, 220 Moby B-Complex, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1582, USA. Tel: +1 970 491 0928; fax: +1 970 491 0445; e-mail: r.donovan{at}colostate.edu


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