Cape Town - With seasonal fires in sight, experts are sounding the alarm early on the need to improve the occupational health of firefighters.
This is after a study indicated that firefighters may be at risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (CVD) due to the nature of their job.
The study, which was compiled by University of the Western Cape doctoral students, aimed to assess the knowledge and attitude towards health and CVD risk factors among 110 firefighters that were sampled from the City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service.
The study found that among the firefighters that presented CVD risk factors, age was a risk factor in 39.6% of male firefighters, 24.5% had hypertension, 19.1% had dyslipidemia, 18.2% were cigarette smokers, 14.5% had a family history of CVD, and 10.9% had diabetes.
Furthermore, the study found that 35% of firefighters indicated that they were light smokers who smoked one to nine cigarettes per day, 35% were intermediate smokers who smoked 10 to 19 cigarettes per day, and 30% were heavy smokers who smoked more than 20 cigarettes a day.
While the majority of firefighters are seen to be in good health, registered Biokineticist and PHD candidate Jaron Ras said that the issue arises when one looks at the firefighter’s age, as with age, firefighters become more susceptible to CVD because ageing causes slow deterioration in the body’s physiological processes.
“The research has indicated that firefighters often have concerns regarding overweight and hypertension, which may be particularly related to the stressful and unpredictable nature of their occupations. Firefighters often opt for foods which are easily available, and high in calories, causing both high blood pressure and weight gain. This is, likely, the cause of the high prevalence of high cholesterol in firefighters, which is often diet-related. So, to be physically ready for duty, firefighters tend to consume high-caloric ‘fast foods’. Firefighters are quite knowledgeable about CVD, however, they lack access to health professionals’ expertise on how to reduce the incidence of developing cardiovascular disease risk factors,” said Ras.
He added that, furthermore, the stressful nature of firefighting, along with the constant irregular sleep-wake cycles causes firefighters to develop blood pressure issues, as well as overeating, due to the increased hunger caused by insufficient sleep.
“In addition, the firefighters regularly engaged in physical activity and noted that they exercised to be fit for firefighting; however, this does not offset the development of cardiovascular disease. This may, also, be in part due to the constant chemical and fume inhalation which has been known to augment the development of cardiovascular disease. This research hopes to inform firefighters about the negative effects the occupation may have on their health, and allow firefighters to make more informed decisions on their health and wellness,” said Ras.
Lloyd Leach, who is the associate professor at UWC’s Department of Sport, Recreation and Exercise Science, added that the research is important because not only does it look at explaining why firefighters in the City experience coronary artery disease risk factors and multiple health risk behaviours, but it also quantifies the various types of coronary artery disease risk factors, work-related musculoskeletal injuries and the multiple health risk behaviours that firefighters in the City experience.
“Possible solutions to address these problems revolve around, firstly, creating awareness of the health problems and burden of disease prevalent among firefighters and, secondly, to provide comprehensive support through education and training, such as workshops, education clinics, regular screening and identifying the presence of risk factors early in life. Over the long-term, recruiting healthcare professionals, such as biokineticists, dietitians and psychologists, among others, to support the firefighters would go a long way in addressing and remedying the situation,” said Leach.
With the scope of the study looking at firefighters in Cape Town, Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson, Jermaine Carelse said that the issue is prevalent around the world, and the annual fitness assessments were impacted by the pandemic.
“The City takes the well-being of staff very seriously, particularly ones on the front line, like our firefighters. While we conduct annual fitness assessments to ensure that staff are in good health, and meet the criteria required for active duty, it is always useful to re-evaluate systems and processes, and effect change if need be. It is envisioned that this study will provide useful insights in that regard.
“In addition the Fire and Rescue Service subscribes to occupational health and safety guidelines for the profession, and conducts annual fitness assessments to ensure that staff meet the criteria for active duty. These assessments were impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, but have resumed in full swing,” said Carelse.