Inflammatory and psychological consequences of chronic high exposure firefighting

Alan Richardson, Nadia Terrazzini, Catherine Gage, Ben James Lee, Rebecca Bradley, Peter Watt, Emily Rachel Watkins

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine the impact of extreme heat exposure frequency on inflammation and well-being in UK Fire Service personnel.

METHODS: 136 Fire personnel and 14 controls (CON) were recruited [92 Firefighters (FF), 44 Breathing Apparatus Instructors (BAI)]. BAI were split into low (LBAI; ≤15 exposures per month) and high (HBAI; ≥20 exposures per month) categories. Measures of inflammation, mood and fatigue were collected at 0, 3 and 6 month times points. These variables were analysed for differences between groups and association with frequency of exposure.

RESULTS: HBAI exhibited raised IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-10, IgE and lower IgM (p0.05).

CONCLUSION: High exposure firefighting consistently causes systemic inflammation without perceptual recognition of potential health risks.
Original languageEnglish
Article number103399
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Thermal Biology
Volume111
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 25 Nov 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This study was supported by the Fire Service Research and Training Trust and the University of Brighton . Funding sources had no involvement in the study design, data collection or report writing.

Funding Information:
Illness symptom data demonstrate that symptoms experienced are consistent over a 6-month period and it can therefore be suggested that these issues are chronic in nature. HBAI and FF report an increased number of symptoms in comparison to CON. This is similar to the increased cluster of symptoms reported previously by BAI (Watkins et al., 2018, 2019a, 2020). The data collected in this study also provides further details than previous research by enabling an understanding of symptom frequency to be gained. HBAI displayed consistently increased frequency of symptom expression compared to CON. FF symptom frequency varied in comparison to other groups, which may reflect the altering sample size as a result of non-attendance. Joint/back pain and disturbed sleep were the most commonly reported symptoms by FF, supporting previous reports of increased prevalence of these issues in the occupation (Kim et al., 2013; Lusa et al., 2015; Negm et al., 2017).This study was supported by the Fire Service Research and Training Trust and the University of Brighton. Funding sources had no involvement in the study design, data collection or report writing.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors

Keywords

  • Occupational Exposure - adverse effects
  • Fatigue
  • Inflammation - etiology
  • Fire
  • Biomarkers
  • Inflammation
  • Interleukin-10
  • Exposure
  • Humans
  • Firefighters
  • Interleukin-6
  • Immunoglobulin M
  • Heat
  • Occupation

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Inflammatory and psychological consequences of chronic high exposure firefighting'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this