TY - JOUR
T1 - The mental health of emergency services personnel in the UK Biobank
T2 - a comparison with the working population
AU - Stevelink, Sharon A.M.
AU - Pernet, David
AU - Dregan, Alexandru
AU - Davis, Katrina
AU - Walker-Bone, Karen
AU - Fear, Nicola T.
AU - Hotopf, Matthew
N1 - Funding Information:
This paper represents independent research part-funded by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King?s College London (SAMS, MH, KD, AD). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2020/12/31
Y1 - 2020/12/31
N2 - Background: There is evidence that mental disorders are more frequently reported among emergency services personnel due to the stressful nature of the job in combination with a high exposure to traumatic events. However, most of this research is based on occupational surveys that may lead to a contextual bias in the prevalence estimates or lack an adequate comparison group. Objectives: To investigate mental health outcomes and associations with individual, job and trauma related characteristics among emergency services personnel compared to other workers. Method: Participants were identified from the UK Biobank, a large study that collected a variety of genetic, physical and health data on individuals from across the UK. UK Biobank participants were aged between 40–69 years at recruitment. Those employed in the emergency services were identified based on job titles. A comparison sample of other workers was selected and matched to the gender composition of emergency services personnel. Results: 5052 participants were included, and 842 were currently working in the emergency services. The majority were male (77.4%) and the mean age at Biobank enrolment was 52.5 years. Alcohol misuse was reported in 32.8% of emergency services personnel compared to 29.2% in non-emergency services personnel, followed by PTSD (9.2% vs 6.0%), depression (6.8% vs 5.1%) and anxiety (3.9% vs 3.6%). An increased risk of PTSD was found among emergency services personnel compared to other workers (odds ratio 1.58, 95% confidence interval 1.21–2.06), but this association was no longer significant after adjustment for exposure to traumatic events and job characteristics. Conclusions: The substantial levels of alcohol misuse and increased risk of PTSD, possibly as a result of traumatic exposures in the line of duty in combination with job stressors such as shift work, call for continued monitoring of the health and wellbeing of emergency services personnel.
AB - Background: There is evidence that mental disorders are more frequently reported among emergency services personnel due to the stressful nature of the job in combination with a high exposure to traumatic events. However, most of this research is based on occupational surveys that may lead to a contextual bias in the prevalence estimates or lack an adequate comparison group. Objectives: To investigate mental health outcomes and associations with individual, job and trauma related characteristics among emergency services personnel compared to other workers. Method: Participants were identified from the UK Biobank, a large study that collected a variety of genetic, physical and health data on individuals from across the UK. UK Biobank participants were aged between 40–69 years at recruitment. Those employed in the emergency services were identified based on job titles. A comparison sample of other workers was selected and matched to the gender composition of emergency services personnel. Results: 5052 participants were included, and 842 were currently working in the emergency services. The majority were male (77.4%) and the mean age at Biobank enrolment was 52.5 years. Alcohol misuse was reported in 32.8% of emergency services personnel compared to 29.2% in non-emergency services personnel, followed by PTSD (9.2% vs 6.0%), depression (6.8% vs 5.1%) and anxiety (3.9% vs 3.6%). An increased risk of PTSD was found among emergency services personnel compared to other workers (odds ratio 1.58, 95% confidence interval 1.21–2.06), but this association was no longer significant after adjustment for exposure to traumatic events and job characteristics. Conclusions: The substantial levels of alcohol misuse and increased risk of PTSD, possibly as a result of traumatic exposures in the line of duty in combination with job stressors such as shift work, call for continued monitoring of the health and wellbeing of emergency services personnel.
KW - Alcohol misuse
KW - ambulance personnel
KW - common mental disorder
KW - emergency services
KW - fire fighters
KW - police
KW - post-traumatic stress disorder
KW - prevalence
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85091529728&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/20008198.2020.1799477
DO - 10.1080/20008198.2020.1799477
M3 - Article
C2 - 33062207
AN - SCOPUS:85091529728
SN - 2000-8198
VL - 11
JO - European Journal of Psychotraumatology
JF - European Journal of Psychotraumatology
IS - 1
M1 - 1799477
ER -
