TY - JOUR
T1 - Association between leisure time physical activity, cardiopulmonary fitness, cardiovascular risk factors, and cardiovascular workload at work in firefighters
AU - Yu, Clare C.W.
AU - Au, Chun T.
AU - Lee, Frank Y.F.
AU - So, Raymond C.H.
AU - Wong, John P.S.
AU - Mak, Gary Y.K.
AU - Chien, Eric P.
AU - McManus, Alison M.
N1 - Funding Information:
We are most grateful to Mr Tsang Fan Pong, Mr Lin Kwok Wa, Mr Michael Y.K. Huang, Mr S.C. Pang, Ms Jiu P.S. Chan, and Ms Daisy C.Y. Kwok for their assistance in data collection of this study, to the Physical Training Establishment and to all participating firefighters of the Hong Kong Fire Services Department, for their full support and heavy involvement in this project. This study was funded by the Hong Kong Fire Services Department, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China . The design, data collection, and analysis of the study were carried out solely by the research team without involvement of the funding body.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015, Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute. Published by Elsevier. All rights reserved.
Copyright:
Copyright 2015 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2015/9/1
Y1 - 2015/9/1
N2 - Background Overweight, obesity, and cardiovascular disease risk factors are prevalent among firefighters in some developed countries. It is unclear whether physical activity and cardiopulmonary fitness reduce cardiovascular disease risk and the cardiovascular workload at work in firefighters. The present study investigated the relationship between leisure-time physical activity, cardiopulmonary fitness, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and cardiovascular workload at work in firefighters in Hong Kong. Methods Male firefighters (n = 387) were randomly selected from serving firefighters in Hong Kong (n = 5,370) for the assessment of cardiovascular disease risk factors (obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, smoking, known cardiovascular diseases). One-third (Target Group) were randomly selected for the assessment of off-duty leisure-time physical activity using the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Maximal oxygen uptake was assessed, as well as cardiovascular workload using heart rate monitoring for each firefighter for four "normal" 24-hour working shifts and during real-situation simulated scenarios. Results Overall, 33.9% of the firefighters had at least two cardiovascular disease risk factors. In the Target Group, firefighters who had higher leisure-time physical activity had a lower resting heart rate and a lower average working heart rate, and spent a smaller proportion of time working at a moderate-intensity cardiovascular workload. Firefighters who had moderate aerobic fitness and high leisure-time physical activity had a lower peak working heart rate during the mountain rescue scenario compared with firefighters who had low leisure-time physical activities. Conclusion Leisure-time physical activity conferred significant benefits during job tasks of moderate cardiovascular workload in firefighters in Hong Kong.
AB - Background Overweight, obesity, and cardiovascular disease risk factors are prevalent among firefighters in some developed countries. It is unclear whether physical activity and cardiopulmonary fitness reduce cardiovascular disease risk and the cardiovascular workload at work in firefighters. The present study investigated the relationship between leisure-time physical activity, cardiopulmonary fitness, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and cardiovascular workload at work in firefighters in Hong Kong. Methods Male firefighters (n = 387) were randomly selected from serving firefighters in Hong Kong (n = 5,370) for the assessment of cardiovascular disease risk factors (obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, smoking, known cardiovascular diseases). One-third (Target Group) were randomly selected for the assessment of off-duty leisure-time physical activity using the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Maximal oxygen uptake was assessed, as well as cardiovascular workload using heart rate monitoring for each firefighter for four "normal" 24-hour working shifts and during real-situation simulated scenarios. Results Overall, 33.9% of the firefighters had at least two cardiovascular disease risk factors. In the Target Group, firefighters who had higher leisure-time physical activity had a lower resting heart rate and a lower average working heart rate, and spent a smaller proportion of time working at a moderate-intensity cardiovascular workload. Firefighters who had moderate aerobic fitness and high leisure-time physical activity had a lower peak working heart rate during the mountain rescue scenario compared with firefighters who had low leisure-time physical activities. Conclusion Leisure-time physical activity conferred significant benefits during job tasks of moderate cardiovascular workload in firefighters in Hong Kong.
KW - Ambulatory heart rate monitoring
KW - Cardiovascular health
KW - Maximal oxygen consumption
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84942296152&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.shaw.2015.02.004
DO - 10.1016/j.shaw.2015.02.004
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:84942296152
SN - 2093-7911
VL - 6
SP - 192
EP - 199
JO - Safety and Health at Work
JF - Safety and Health at Work
IS - 3
ER -
