Health Monitoring Study Research Articles

Impact of motherhood and social support on the wellbeing of UK female police officers and staff

Abstract Background Female officers and staff face gender-specific challenges, particularly, during pregnancy and motherhood. Our study explores whether and how motherhood affects mental health outcomes (e.g., probable depression and anxiety) and return to work following sickness absence (SA), considering mediating role of workplace social support. Methods Logistic regression analysed probable depression and anxiety using Airwave Health Monitoring Study (AHMS) data. Cox proportional hazards models assessed return to work after sickness absence, linking AHMS with sickness absence data from 26 police forces. Exposure variables were created by the interaction of motherhood status and social support, while covariates included sociodemographic, lifestyle, and work-related factors. Results Mothers with low social support from superiors had higher odds of probable depression (OR = 2.14, 95% CI = 1.81-2.54) and anxiety (OR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.62-2.14) compared to non-mothers. Moderate and high social support reduced odds of depression (Moderate: OR = 0.97, 95% CI = 0.85-1.11; High: OR = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.57-0.73) and anxiety (Moderate: OR = 1.24, 95% CI = 1.12-1.36; High: OR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.75-0.9) for mothers, but the impact varied when adjusted for covariates. Mothers with lower levels of social support were less likely to return to work after SA compared to non-mothers, as indicated by the survival analysis (Low social support: HR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.95-1.13; High social support: HR = 1, 95% CI = 0.96-1.04). These trends persisted across social support sources-colleagues and combined support-emphasising the complex interplay between workplace social support, motherhood, mental health, and sickness absence in policing. Conclusions Our study emphasises boosting workplace social support for female police officers and staff, to aid them in navigating motherhood demands. This improvement can lead to better mental health, retention, job satisfaction, and organisational effectiveness, ultimately promoting community safety. Key messages • Highlighting the importance of workplace social support for female police officers and staff, informs policy makers and practitioners to prioritize social support initiatives within policing. • Lower social support was associated with a reduced likelihood of returning to work after sickness absence, particularly among mothers compared to non-mothers.

Evidence of gene-nutrient interaction association with waist circumference, cross-sectional analysis

Background and aimsWaist circumference (WC) is a significant indicator of body adiposity and is associated with increased mortality and morbidity of cardiovascular diseases. Although, single nutrient intake and candidate genes were previously associated with WC. Little is known about WC association with overall diet quality, genetic risk score and gene-nutrient interaction. This study aims to investigate the influence of overall diet quality and multiple WC-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms on WC. In addition to investigating gene-nutrient interaction association with WC.MethodsThis study explored cross-sectional data from two large sample-size studies, to provide reproducible results. As a representation of the UK population, the Airwave Health Monitoring Study (n = 6,502) and the UK-Biobank Cohort Study (n = 171,129) were explored for factors associated with WC. Diet quality was evaluated based on the Mellen Index for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (Mellen-DASH). The genetic risk score for WC (GRS-Waist) was calculated by screening the population genotype for WC-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms. Multivariate linear regression models were built to explore WC association with diet quality and genetic risk score. Gene-nutrient interaction was explored by introducing the interaction term (GRS-Waist X Mellen-DASH score) to multivariate linear regression analysis.ResultsThe prevalence of high WC (Female > 80 cm, Male > 94 cm) was 46.5% and 51.7% in both populations. Diet quality and genetic risk score of WC were significantly associated with WC. There was no evidence of interaction between GRS-Waist, DASH diet scores and nutrient intake on WC.ConclusionThis study’s findings provided reproducible results on waist circumference association with diet and genetics and tested the possibility of gene-nutrient interaction. These reproducible results are successful in building the foundation for using diet and genetics for early identification of those at risk of having high WC and WC-associated diseases. In addition, evidence on gene-diet interactions on WC is limited and lacks replication, therefore our findings may guide future research in investigating this interaction and investigating its application in precision nutrition.

Associations of Systematic Inflammatory Markers with Diet Quality, Blood Pressure, and Obesity in the AIRWAVE Health Monitoring Study.

Chronic low-grade inflammation is a characteristic feature of obesity, and elevated levels of inflammation are associated with pathophysiologic consequences and a constellation of metabolic disturbances, such as hypertension. The relationships of inflammation with diet, obesity, and hypertension are complex, hence, this study aimed to assess cross-sectional relationships between inflammatory scores, diet quality, obesity, high blood pressure (BP), and hypertension in the Airwave Health Monitoring Study cohort, a large cohort of police officers and police staff in the United Kingdom. Data from 5198 men and 3347 women who completed health screening measurements and dietary assessment between 2007 and 2012 were included (n=8545 adults). Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), and the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) were calculated. Diet quality was evaluated using the Nutrient-Rich Food 9.3 (NRF9.3) index score. Results show that a 1SD higher diet quality score, waist circumference, and systolic/diastolic BP were significantly associated with SII differences of -33.3 (95% confidence interval (CI): -49.0, -17.6), 8.2 (95% CI: 0.2, 16.6), 17.9 (95% CI: 10.1, 25.8), and 18.3 (95% CI: 10.8, 25.7) (Model 2; P<0.0001), respectively. A 1SD higher diet quality score, waist circumference, and BMI were also significantly associated with PLR (P<0.0001). The odds of elevated PLR were higher in those with higher systolic and diastolic BP (P<0.0001, P=0.0006, respectively). In conclusion, the findings of this analysis add to the existing knowledge indicating a link between inflammation and conditions such as obesity, hypertension, and behavioral factors including diet quality. Of the various inflammatory scores evaluated, SII and PLR were consistently significantly associated with diet quality and these conditions.

Sickness absence and associations with sociodemographic factors, health risk behaviours, occupational stressors and adverse mental health in 40,343 UK police employees.

Police employees may experience high levels of stress due to the challenging nature of their work which can then lead to sickness absence. To date, there has been limited research on sickness absence in the police. This exploratory analysis investigated sickness absence in UK police employees. Secondary data analyses were conducted using data from the Airwave Health Monitoring Study (2006-2015). Past year sickness absence was self-reported and categorised as none, low (1-5 days), moderate (6-19 days) and long-term sickness absence (LTSA, 20 or more days). Descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regressions were used to examine sickness absence and exploratory associations with sociodemographic factors, occupational stressors, health risk behaviours, and mental health outcomes, controlling for rank, gender and age. From a sample of 40,343 police staff and police officers, forty-six per cent had no sickness absence within the previous year, 33% had a low amount, 13% a moderate amount and 8% were on LTSA. The groups that were more likely to take sick leave were women, non-uniformed police staff, divorced or separated, smokers and those with three or more general practitioner consultations in the past year, poorer mental health, low job satisfaction and high job strain. The study highlights the groups of police employees who may be more likely to take sick leave and is unique in its use of a large cohort of police employees. The findings emphasise the importance of considering possible modifiable factors that may contribute to sickness absence in UK police forces.

Polyphenol intake beneficially associates with inflammation and cognitive performance, and is mediated by MRI‐derived features

AbstractBackgroundEarly changes to cognitive performance and neurophysiological biomarkers offer insights into one’s future risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. Evidence suggests a link between polyphenol intake and reduced incidence of age‐associated cognitive decline and neurodegeneration. These relationships may be driven by the effect of dietary polyphenols on inflammation and degeneration of critical neurological structures and systems. These relationships are challenging to assess, as few cohorts allow cohesive assessment of polyphenol intake, systemic inflammation, neurophysiological measures and cognition.MethodPolyphenol intake was assessed in two UK cohorts: The Airwave Health Monitoring Study and UK Biobank (UKB). Diet diary and questionnaire data were integrated with polyphenol composition data from Phenol‐Explorer to allow for testing of associations between polyphenol intake, blood biomarkers of inflammation, and cognitive performance. 9008 Airwave participants and 209,163 UKB participants were included in a cross‐sectional analysis. C‐reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen were used as blood biomarkers of inflammation, and cognitive assessments included reaction time (milliseconds) and fluid intelligence (score /13). Neuroimaging assessments included grey matter volumes and white matter integrity, and were considered individually and using PCA.ResultLinear regressions showed inverse associations between total polyphenol intake and CRP: ß ‐0.00702 (Airwave) and ß = ‐0.00672 (UKB), both P &lt;0.001, as well as fibrinogen: ß ‐0.00221; P = 0.038 (Airwave only), in addition to biomarker associations with polyphenols at the compound group level. Regarding cognition, linear regressions revealed beneficial associations between total intake and performance in fluid intelligence tests: ß 0.00657; P = 0.009 (Airwave) and ß 0.00715, P &lt;0.001 (UKB), and reaction time ß ‐0.0000977; P = 0.020 (UKB). Mediations of the polyphenol‐fluid intelligence relationship were detected for IDPs including grey matter volumes of hippocampal‐associated regions, and white matter integrity measured using ISOVF.ConclusionWe described polyphenol intake in two large, contemporary UK cohorts, and discovered associations between higher intake and improved inflammatory markers and cognitive performance, as well as mediations of the polyphenol‐cognition relationship by physical neurological markers. This contributes to evidence supporting the health benefits of dietary polyphenols, clarifies the physiological pathways through which they may act, and highlights their relevance when considering preventative interventions for neurodegeneration.

Polyphenol intake beneficially associates with inflammation and cognitive performance, and is mediated by MRI‐derived features

AbstractBackgroundEarly changes to cognitive performance and neurophysiological biomarkers offer insights into one’s future risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. Evidence suggests a link between polyphenol intake and reduced incidence of age‐associated cognitive decline and neurodegeneration. These relationships may be driven by the effect of dietary polyphenols on inflammation and degeneration of critical neurological structures and systems. These relationships are challenging to assess, as few cohorts allow cohesive assessment of polyphenol intake, systemic inflammation, neurophysiological measures and cognition.MethodPolyphenol intake was assessed in two UK cohorts: The Airwave Health Monitoring Study and UK Biobank (UKB). Diet diary and questionnaire data were integrated with polyphenol composition data from Phenol‐Explorer to allow for testing of associations between polyphenol intake, blood biomarkers of inflammation, and cognitive performance. 9008 Airwave participants and 209,163 UKB participants were included in a cross‐sectional analysis. C‐reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen were used as blood biomarkers of inflammation, and cognitive assessments included reaction time (milliseconds) and fluid intelligence (score /13). Neuroimaging assessments included grey matter volumes and white matter integrity, and were considered individually and using PCA.ResultLinear regressions showed inverse associations between total polyphenol intake and CRP: β ‐0.00702 (Airwave) and β = ‐0.00672 (UKB), both P &lt;0.001, as well as fibrinogen: β ‐0.00221; P = 0.038 (Airwave only), in addition to biomarker associations with polyphenols at the compound group level. Regarding cognition, linear regressions revealed beneficial associations between total intake and performance in fluid intelligence tests: β 0.00657; P = 0.009 (Airwave) and β 0.00715, P &lt;0.001 (UKB), and reaction time β ‐0.0000977; P = 0.020 (UKB). Mediations of the polyphenol‐fluid intelligence relationship were detected for IDPs including grey matter volumes of hippocampal‐associated regions, and white matter integrity measured using ISOVF.ConclusionWe described polyphenol intake in two large, contemporary UK cohorts, and discovered associations between higher intake and improved inflammatory markers and cognitive performance, as well as mediations of the polyphenol‐cognition relationship by physical neurological markers. This contributes to evidence supporting the health benefits of dietary polyphenols, clarifies the physiological pathways through which they may act, and highlights their relevance when considering preventative interventions for neurodegeneration.

Establishing a Gold Standard for Quantitative Menstrual Cycle Monitoring.

Background and Objectives: The Quantum Menstrual Health Monitoring Study will measure four key reproductive hormones in the urine (follicle-stimulating hormone, FSH; estrone-3-glucuronide, E13G; luteinizing hormone, LH; and pregnanediol glucuronide, PDG) to characterize patterns that predict and confirm ovulation, referenced to serum hormones and the gold standard of the ultrasound day of ovulation in participants with regular cycles. These normal cycles will provide a reference for comparison to irregular cycles in subjects with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and athletes. Materials and Methods: Participants will track their menstrual cycles for 3 months and be provided with an at-home urine hormone monitor (Mira monitor) to predict ovulation. The day of ovulation will be confirmed with serial ultrasounds completed in a community clinic. Urine results will be compared to serum hormone values. Other markers of menstrual health, such as bleeding patterns and temperature changes, will be determined using a customized app. Three groups will be recruited. Group 1 will include those with consistent regular cycle lengths (between 24-38 days), and will be compared to two groups with irregular cycle lengths (with increased cycle length variability and longer cycles). Group 2 will include those with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) with irregular cycles and Group 3 will include individuals participating in high levels of exercise with irregular cycles. Hypothesis: The Mira monitor quantitative urine hormone pattern will accurately correlate with serum hormonal levels and will predict (with LH) and confirm (with PDG) the ultrasound day of ovulation in those with regular cycles as well as those with irregular cycles. Rationale: Once the ultrasound validation is complete, tools like the Mira monitor with a customized app may become a new standard for at-home and remote clinical monitoring of the menstrual cycle without having to use labor-intensive follicular-tracking ultrasound or follow serum hormone changes. Conclusions: Precision monitoring of the menstrual cycle is expected to impact individuals who want to increase their menstrual health literacy and guide decisions about fertility.

Research on recognition method of broiler overlapping sounds based on random forest and confidence interval

In response to the problem of difficult recognition of overlapping sounds in previous broiler health monitoring studies, in this paper, the author proposed a recognition method of broiler overlapping sounds based on random forest and confidence interval. The author newly defined the confidence rate, confidence interval and recognition error, and combined Random-Forest-based classifier (abbr. RF classifier) to realize the recognition of overlapping sounds in a fixed-duration broiler sound signal. In the research phase, the PXI-1050 model audio collection system was used to collect a large number of broiler sound signals, whereby multiple datasets corresponding to different sound types and overlapping sounds were established, and corresponding multiple first confidence rates were calculated. First, by analyzing the value interval of the first confidence rate of four sound types, including the cough, the crow, the purr and the flapping wing, respectively, the common value interval of the single sound type was obtained as [0.8, 1]. Second, by analyzing the value interval of the first confidence rate of the six sound type combinations in the double overlapping sounds, the common value interval of the double overlapping sounds was obtained as [0.45, 0.6]. On this basis, the overlapping interval was determined as [0, 0.7), and the pure interval was determined as [0.7, 1]. Then, by analyzing the value interval of the first confidence rate of four sound type combinations in the triple overlapping sounds, the common value interval of the triple overlapping sounds was obtained as [0.35, 0.45]. Therefore, within the overlapping interval, [0,0.35) was determined as the value interval of quadruple overlapping sounds, [0.35,0.45) was determined as the value interval of triple overlapping sounds, and [0.45,0.7) was determined as the value interval of double overlapping sounds. Finally, general procedure steps of the broiler overlapping sound recognition method used in the test phase was given. Multiple test results show that, for the recognition of sound types and overlapping sounds in broiler sound signals, the average recognition accuracy was 100%. For the recognition of overlapping degrees, the average recognition accuracy was 97.22%. For the recognition of sound type combinations, the average recognition error was 2.27%. It fully proves the good generalization effect of the method proposed in this paper, as well as its high practicability and robustness in practical tests. It is an important supplement to the existing broiler health monitoring study. Meanwhile, it can be applied to the research on recognition and separation of overlapping sounds or signals in similar fields, thus it has a high reference value.

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) Study of Polymer Matrix Composite (PMC) Materials Using Nonlinear Vibration Methods Based on Embedded Piezoelectric Transducers

Nowadays, nonlinear vibration methods are increasingly used for the detection of damage mechanisms in polymer matrix composite (PMC) materials, which are anisotropic and heterogeneous. The originality of this study was the use of two nonlinear vibration methods to detect different types of damage within PMC through an in situ embedded polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) piezoelectric sensor. The two used methods are nonlinear resonance (NLR) and single frequency excitation (SFE). They were first tested on damage introduced during the manufacturing of the smart PMC plates, and second, on the damage that occurred after the manufacturing. The results show that both techniques are interesting, and probably a combination of them will be the best choice for SHM purposes. During the experimentation, an accelerometer was used, in order to validate the effectiveness of the integrated PVDF sensor.

Primary Care Consultations Among UK Police Officers and Staff: Links With Adverse Mental Health and Job Strain.

The current study examined links between adverse mental health, job strain, and likelihood and frequency of primary care consultations among police employees. We conducted secondary data analysis on the Airwave Health Monitoring Study data ( n = 33,730). Measures included self-report data on mental health, job strain, job support, and primary care consultations in the past 12 months. Data were analyzed using a zero-inflated Poisson regression framework. Findings showed that overall, help seeking was low based on mental health status and job strain. Adverse mental health was associated with more primary care consultations. Police employees with high, active, or passive job strain reported more primary care consultation compared with police employees with low strain. Findings suggest that more work to reduce stigma of taking the initial step of help seeking would be beneficial.

Lifestyle Score and Risk of Hypertension in the Airwave Health Monitoring Study of British Police Force Employees.

Evidence suggest that promoting a combination of healthy lifestyle behaviors instead of exclusively focusing on a single behavior may have a greater impact on blood pressure (BP). We aimed to evaluate lifestyle factors and their impact on the risk of hypertension and BP. We analyzed cross-sectional health-screening data from the Airwave Health Monitoring Study of 40,462 British police force staff. A basic lifestyle-score including waist-circumference, smoking and serum total cholesterol was calculated, with a greater value indicating a better lifestyle. Individual/combined scores of other lifestyle factors (sleep duration, physical activity, alcohol intake, and diet quality) were also developed. A 1-point higher basic lifestyle-score was associated with a lower systolic BP (SBP; -2.05 mmHg, 95%CI: -2.15, -1.95); diastolic BP (DBP; -1.98 mmHg, 95%CI: -2.05, -1.91) and was inversely associated with risk of hypertension. Combined scores of other factors showed attenuated but significant associations with the addition of sleep, physical activity, and diet quality to the basic lifestyle-score; however, alcohol intake did not further attenuate results. Modifiable intermediary factors have a stronger contribution to BP, namely, waist-circumference and cholesterol levels and factors that may directly influence them, such as diet, physical activity and sleep. Observed findings suggest that alcohol is a confounder in the BP-lifestyle score relation.

Metabolome-wide association study on physical activity

The underlying mechanisms linking physical activity to better health are not fully understood. Here we examined the associations between physical activity and small circulatory molecules, the metabolome, to highlight relevant biological pathways. We examined plasma metabolites associated with self-reported physical activity among 2217 participants from the Airwave Health Monitoring Study. Metabolic profiling was conducted using the mass spectrometry-based Metabolon platform (LC/GC–MS), measuring 828 known metabolites. We replicated our findings in an independent subset of the study (n = 2971) using untargeted LC–MS. Mendelian randomisation was carried out to investigate potential causal associations between physical activity, body mass index, and metabolites. Higher vigorous physical activity was associated (P < 0.05/828 = 6.03 × 10–5) with circulatory levels of 28 metabolites adjusted for age, sex and body mass index. The association was inverse for glutamate and diacylglycerol lipids, and direct for 3–4-hydroxyphenyllactate, phenyl lactate (PLA), alpha-hydroxy isovalerate, tiglylcarnitine, alpha-hydroxyisocaproate, 2-hydroxy-3-methylvalerate, isobutyrylcarnitine, imidazole lactate, methionine sulfone, indole lactate, plasmalogen lipids, pristanate and fumarate. In the replication panel, we found 23 untargeted LC–MS features annotated to the identified metabolites, for which we found nominal associations with the same direction of effect for three features annotated to 1-(1-enyl-palmitoyl)-2-oleoyl-GPC (P-16:0/18:1), 1-(1-enyl-palmitoyl)-2-linoleoyl-GPC (P-16:0/18:2), 1-stearoyl-2-dihomo-linolenoyl-GPC (18:0/20:3n3 or 6). Using Mendelian randomisation, we showed a potential causal relationship between body mass index and three identified metabolites. Circulatory metabolites are associated with physical activity and may play a role in mediating its health effects.

Evaluation of lifestyle scores in relation to blood pressure in young and older adults of the airwave health monitoring study of British police force employees

Evaluation of lifestyle scores in relation to blood pressure in young and older adults of the airwave health monitoring study of British police force employees

Detection of Testudinid alphaherpesvirus, Chlamydia spp., Mycoplasma spp., and Salmonella spp. in free‑ranging and rescued Italian Testudo hermanni hermanni.

Testudo hermanni is included as near‑threatened in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, while T. hermanni hermanni is considered endangered in the Italian Red List. Appropriate management of smuggled or seized wild individuals is recommended before their reintroduction into the wild. Accordingly, a health monitoring study was carried out. During 2014‑2016, 133 oral swabs and 121 cloacal swabs were collected from a total of approximately 180 free‑ranging and rescued T. hermanni hermanni from eight different Italian regions to investigate the presence of DNA of Testudinid alphaherpesvirus (TeAHV), Chlamydia spp. and Mycoplasma spp. in the oral cavity, and Salmonella spp. isolates in the cloaca. Mycoplasma spp. was detected in 52 out of 87 (59.77%) of rescued and in 1 out of 46 free‑ranging (2.17%) individuals; 33 out of 53 (62.26%) Mycoplasma spp. positive samples were typed as M. agassizii by PCR. Salmonella spp. was isolated from 45 out of 121 (37.19%) cloacal swabs, typed into 14 serovars, and characterized for complete antimicrobial susceptibility. A significantly different distribution of Salmonella spp. isolates was found in 2016 in comparison with 2014 and 2015, without any difference between free‑ranging and rescued tortoises. All the tested tortoises were negative for TeAHV and Chlamydia spp. These results are considered a baseline information critical to monitor the dynamics of these microorganisms in free‑ranging and rescued populations of T. h. hermanni, and to correctly approach the management of rescued animals and possible relocation programs.

Relationship between Early Childhood Caries and Prolonged Coughing Episodes in a Cohort of Cambodian Children.

Studies have shown an association between Early Childhood Caries (ECC) and respiratory infections; however, most have been cross-sectional, and all have been in high-income countries. Inverse probability treatment weighting (IPTW) was applied to longitudinal data from the Cambodia Health and Nutrition Monitoring Study. An analytical sample of 1703 Cambodian children between 1- and 4-years old was used to examine the effect of caries incidence (ECC Activity) on the odds of a child subsequently experiencing an episode of prolonged coughing (>14 days) over the subsequent 18 m. ECC activity occurred among 523 children (30.7%) while prolonged coughing was observed among 235 children (13.8%). ECC activity increased the risk of prolonged coughing (RR 1.23; 95% CI 0.95, 1.58; Average treatment effect = 3%). Follow-up investigations are justified in order to examine whether ECC may be a modifiable risk factor for prevention of respiratory illness among young children.

Anthropogenic Sewage Water Circuit as Vector for SARS-CoV-2 Viral ARN Transport and Public Health Assessment, Monitoring and Forecasting-Sibiu Metropolitan Area (Transylvania/Romania) Study Case.

Water is a risk factor for epidemics of waterborne diseases with effects on human health. In 2019, new viral pneumonia cases occurred in China and spread worldwide. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and accuracy of a wastewater-based epidemiological (WBE) monitoring tool in a SARS-CoV-2 hot spot (Sibiu City metropolitan area), namely to highlight the correlation between the number of infections on the days of sampling and the amount of viral RNA detected in wastewater. Wastewater samples were collected once a week, and viral RNA was extracted and quantified. In parallel, the daily number of SARS-CoV-2 infections was obtained from the local council. The correlation between the number of infections and viruses detected in sewage was measured by Pearson correlation coefficients. The results show the amount of viral RNA in the wastewater is directly correlated with the number of infections reported in the week up to the sampling day and also the number of infections reported for the sampling day. Moreover, correlation coefficients show the amount of viral RNA in wastewater increases in advance of the increase in reported infection cases. Therefore, WBE can be used as a tool for monitoring virus spread trends in human communities and can help anticipate the trend of this type of viral infection.

A comparison of probable post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol consumption among active female members of the UK Police Service and UK Armed Forces

BackgroundThe British Police Service and Armed Forces are male-dominated occupations, characterised by frequent trauma exposure and intensive demands. Female police employees and military personnel may have unique experiences and face additional strains to their male counterparts. This analysis compared the levels of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), hazardous/harmful alcohol consumption, and comorbidity in female police employees and military personnel.MethodsPolice data were obtained from the Airwave Health Monitoring Study (N = 14,145; 2007–2015) and military data from the Health and Wellbeing Cohort Study (N = 928; phase 2: 2007–2009 and phase 3: 2014–2016). Multinomial/logistic regressions analysed sample differences in probable PTSD, hazardous (14–35 units per week) and harmful (35 + units per week) alcohol consumption, and comorbid problems. We compared covariate adjustment and entropy balancing (reweighting method controlling for the same covariates) approaches.ResultsThere were no significant differences in probable PTSD (police: 3.74% vs military: 4.47%) or hazardous drinking (police: 19.20% vs military: 16.32%). Female military personnel showed significantly higher levels of harmful drinking (4.71%) than police employees (2.42%; Adjusted Odds Ratios [AOR] = 2.26, 95% Confidence Intervals [CIs] = 1.60–3.21), and comorbidity (1.87%) than police employees (1.00%, AOR = 2.07, 95% CI = 1.21–3.54). Entropy balancing and covariate-adjustments obtained the same results.ConclusionsComparable levels of probable PTSD were observed, which are slightly lower than estimates observed in the female general population. Future research should explore the reasons for this. However, female military personnel showed higher levels of harmful drinking than police employees, emphasising the need for alcohol interventions in military settings.

A latent class analysis of health risk behaviours in the UK Police Service and their associations with mental health and job strain

BackgroundHealth risk behaviours (e.g., harmful drinking and smoking) often cluster together and can be associated with poor mental health and stress. This study examined how health risk behaviours cluster together in individuals in a high stress occupation (UK Police Service), and the associations with mental health and job strain.MethodsData was obtained from the Airwave Health Monitoring Study (25,234 male and 14,989 female police employees), which included measures of health risk behaviours (alcohol use, diet, smoking status, physical activity), poor mental health (depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD]), and job strain (low, high, active, passive). Classes of health risk behaviours were identified using Latent Class Analysis (LCA) and the associations with mental health and job strain were analysed through multinomial logistic regressions.ResultsFor men and women, a 5-class solution was the best fit. Men and women with depression, anxiety, and/or PTSD (analysed as separate variables) had at least double the odds of being assigned to the “high health risk behaviours” class, compared to those with no mental health problem. Compared to those reporting low strain, men and women reporting high strain had increased odds of being assigned to the “low risk drinkers with other health risk behaviours” classes.ConclusionsThese finding highlight the importance of holistic interventions which target co-occurring health risk behaviours, to prevent more adverse physical health consequences. Police employees with poor mental health are more likely to engage in multiple health risk behaviours, which suggests they may need additional support. However, as the data was cross-sectional, the temporal associations between the classes and mental health or job strain could not be determined.

The Role of Fibre Intake in Combination With Physical Activity in Reducing Body Composition Parameters

Abstract Objectives To investigate the dual effect of physical activity and fibre intake on body composition parameters in males and females. This study hypothesises that the relationship between body composition parameters and fibre intake is dependent on physical activity and gender. Methods This study included 8958 individuals (5438 males and 3520 females) from the Airwave Health Monitoring Study, which uses the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) to categorise Physical Activity Levels (PAL) into low (PAL 1.4), medium (PAL 1.6) and high (PAL 1.8)1,2. Dietary fibre intake was measured by 7-day food records3. The effect of physical activity and fibre consumption on four body composition parameters: BMI, body weight, waist circumference and body fat% was investigated using ANOVA with Bonferroni correction. Results There were significantly lower values for all tested body composition parameters in the highly physically active group (PAL 1.8; n = 4464) compared to the least physically active group (PAL 1.4; n = 1388) after adjustment for age, gender and energy intake. PAL 1.8 participants were categorised into quartiles of dietary fibre intake. After adjusting for age, gender, energy intake and total Mets (amount of energy expended carrying out physical activity), we found that those with the highest daily fibre consumption (³13g/ 1000 kcal; n = 1136) had a mean of 0.5 kg/m2 (BMI; SE = 0.2, p = 0.014), 1.1kg (body weight; SE = 0.8, p = 0.059), 2.4 cm (waist circumference; SE = 0.6, p &amp;lt; 0.001) and 1.6% (Body Fat%; SE = 0.4, p &amp;lt; 0.001) lower than those with lowest fibre consumption (≤6.1 g/1000 kcal, n = 1088) (table2). When separate gender analysis was conducted, the difference in the four measurements between the groups with highest and lowest fibre intake was significant in males only (BMI: 0.9 kg/m2; SE = 0.2, p &amp;lt; 0.001, body weight: 2.4 kg; SE = 0.9, p = 0.002, waist circumference: 3.1cm; SE = 0.7, p &amp;lt; 0.001, body fat%: 2.3%; SE = 0.4, p &amp;lt; 0.001). Conclusions The present study is the first to examine the impact of dietary fibre intake on body composition measures in physically active adults. The study shows that dietary fibre consumption is capable of improving body composition in physically active individuals, however, this effect was driven by changes in males. Funding Sources Imperial College London, London, W12 0NN, UK.

The prevalence of diseases in German emergency medical services staff: A survey study

For the general German population, the GEDA study is the main health monitoring study. Since nothing comparable is existing regarding the health of emergency medical services (EMS) staff, the aim of the present study was to estimate the 12-months prevalence of socially relevant diseases and symptoms among German pre-hospital EMS staff. This was a nationwide survey study. For retrieval of information on the health status of participating EMS staff items from the GEDA2014/2015 study were used. Afterwards, 12-months prevalence or proportions and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated. Overall, 2,313 German pre-hospital EMS staff (42.6% female/57.2% male) with a median age of 25.0 (min. 18.0; max. 63.0) years were included into the final analysis. Obesity based on BMI was present in 25.9% (95% CI: 23.5%; 28.4%) of male compared to 15.7% (95% CI: 13.5%; 18.1%) of female study participants. Highest 12-months prevalence in the full study sample were calculated for lower back pain (41.1% [95%: 39.1%; 43.2%]), cervical pain (32.9% [95% CI: 30.9%; 34.8%]), allergies (32.6% [95% CI: 30.7%; 34.6%], depression (13.7% [95% CI: 12.4%; 15.2%]), and hypertension (11.5% [95% CI: 10.3%; 12.9%]). The 12-months prevalence in specific age-/gender-groups were higher for asthma, depression, hypertension, increased blood lipids, and osteoarthritis among study participants compared to the general German population (GEDA study) with the same age and gender (ratio ≥ 1.5). This study indicates that the prevalence of obesity, depression, hypertension, and other disorders is high among study participants and disease prevention measures for pre-hospital EMS staff are needed.