Cardiovascular Risk, Social Vigilance, and Stress Profiles of Male Law Enforcement Officers Versus Civilians

Overview

Journal Health Psychol Open

Publisher Sage Publications

Specialty Psychology

Date 2024 Apr 8

PMID 38586533

Authors

Shannon C White

John M Ruiz

Matthew Allison

Bert N Uchino

Timothy W Smith

Daniel J Taylor

Dusti R Jones

Michael A Russell

Emily B Ansell

Joshua M Smyth

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

This study examined the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk profiles of male law enforcement officers (LEOs) and civilians. CVD risk profiles were based on data collected using traditional objective (e.g., resting BP, cholesterol), novel objective (e.g., ambulatory BP) and self-report measures (e.g., EMA social vigilance). A subset of male LEOs ( = 30, M age = 41.47, SD = 8.03) and male civilians ( = 120, age = 40.73, SD = 13.52) from a larger study were included in analyses. Results indicated LEOs had significantly higher body mass index [BMI], 31.17 kg/m versus 28.87 kg/m, and exhibited significantly higher trait and state social vigilance across multiple measures, whereas perceived stress was higher among civilians. Findings highlight the need for future research examining CVD risk associated with occupational health disparities, including attributes of individuals entering certain professions as well as experiential and environmental demands of the work.

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