Alcohol Consumption, Physical Activity, and CAD Risk Factors in Firefighters

Abstract

Introduction: Firefighting is a physically and psychologically stressful occupation, where firefighters often resort to alcohol use as a coping strategy. Firefighters are particularly vulnerable to alcohol misuse and alcohol disorders, negatively affecting their health, well-being and, possibly, work performance. Therefore, this study investigated the prevalence of alcohol consumption and its relationship with the participants’ sociodemographic characteristics, weekly physical activity, and coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors. Methods: This study used a quantitative, cross-sectional and descriptive design. A total of 124 full-time firefighters, males and females, were conveniently recruited from the City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service, South Africa, between September to November, 2020. Firefighters were then separated according to sex, age, ethnicity, and CAD risk factors. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis H were used to determine the statistical differences between groups, Kendall’s Tau was used to assess the correlation between ordinal and continuous variables, and Chi-square to assess the association between categorical variables. A p-value of less than 0.05 was used to indicate statistical significance. Results: In the present study, 72.6% (n = 90) of firefighters reported consuming alcohol, of which 75.5% (n = 74) were male and 61.5% (n = 16) were female. Of this total, 40.0% (n = 44) reported that they consumed a variety of alcoholic beverages, 32.2% (n = 36) consumed beers mainly, 14.4% (n = 16) consumed spirits mainly, and 13.3% (n = 15) consumed wines mainly. In addition, 21.1% (n = 19) were categorised as moderate drinkers and 10% (n = 9) as heavy drinkers. The overall volume of alcohol consumption was significantly different between sexes and ethnicities (p <0.05). In addition, the volume of alcohol consumption was significantly associated with sex, ethnicity, total low-intensity physical activity minutes, diastolic blood pressure, and hypertension (p = 0.005). Sex (p = 0.021) and ethnicity (p = 0.042) were significantly associated with alcohol type. The volume of alcohol consumption was a significant predictor of total low-intensity physical activity, as well as systolic (p = 0.048) and diastolic blood pressures (p = 0.036). Conclusion: The majority of firefighters consumed alcohol, preferred a variety of alcoholic beverages and were classified as light drinkers. Younger male firefighters consumed more alcohol than females and were more likely to be categorized as heavy drinkers. Alcohol consumption was significantly associated with sex, ethnicity, physical activity, and hypertension. Educational programs to mitigate alcohol consumption should be implemented as a preventative measure in the fire service, especially among young male firefighters.