Subclinical Measures of Cardiovascular Health Among Wildland Firefighters

Abstract

Objective The aim of the study is to compare subclinical measures of cardiovascular health among wildland firefighters (WFFs) to the US general population. Methods Our cross-sectional study compared body mass index, total cholesterol, and blood pressure in 11,051 WFFs aged 17 to 64 years using Department of the Interior Medical Screening Program clinical screening examinations between 2014–2018 to National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 2015–2016 cycle using adjusted logistic regression analyses. Results The logistic regression model shows significantly higher odds of hypertension and prehypertension in WFFs (2.84 times more with 95% CI: 2.28–3.53) than US general population. There were no consistent differences in body mass index or total cholesterol between the two population. Conclusions Hypertension and prehypertension were more prevalent in WFFs compared with the US general population, which suggests the need for actions for protecting against cardiovascular disease among WFFs.