Metabolic Syndrome in Female Police Officers and Female Office Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study in Occupations with Different Physical Activities

Abstract

Markus Strauss,1,2 Peter Foshag,2 Anna Brzek,3 Richard Vollenberg,4 Ulrich Jehn,5 Roman Leischik2 1Department of Cardiology I- Coronary and Peripheral Vascular Disease, Heart Failure Medicine, University Hospital Muenster, Cardiol, Muenster 48149, Germany; 2Department of Cardiology, Sector Preventive Medicine, Health Promotion, Faculty of Health, School of Medicine, University Witten/Herdecke, Hagen 58095, Germany; 3Department of Physiotherapy, Chair of Physiotherapy, School of Health Sciences, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland; 4Department of Medicine B, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster 48149, Germany; 5Department of Medicine D, Division of General Internal Medicine, Nephrology and Rheumatology, University Hospital of Muenster, Muenster 48149, GermanyCorrespondence: Markus StraussDepartment of Cardiology I- Coronary and Peripheral Vascular Disease, Heart Failure Medicine, University Hospital Muenster, Cardiol 48149, Muenster, GermanyEmail [email protected]: Increase in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) has become a worldwide major health problem. So far, there are limited data about the impact of occupation types and the development of metabolic risks in females. This study aimed to compare the metabolic risk profiles and in two extremely different female occupational groups: police officers (PO) and office workers (OW).Methods: The prospective study included a total number of 97 female subjects (37 POs and 60 OWs) from Germany. Anthropometric characteristics, metabolic risk parameters as well as laboratory parameters were taken. The diagnosis of MetS was based on the criteria of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF).Results: Female OWs presented a high prevalence of obesity, shown in average abdominal waist circumference (85.3 ± 14.5 cm) above the threshold of ≥ 80 cm recommended by the IDF to define abdominal obesity. Sixty percent of OWs versus 25% of POs had an abnormal abdominal waist circumference. Concerning other metabolic risk factors (HDL, triglycerides, body mass index, blood pressure) no significant differences were found, but a tendency toward a higher prevalence of abnormal values is presented in OWs than POs. MetS was detected in almost 8% of OWs as compared with 5% in POs (p = 0.705).Conclusion: In an international comparison, German female POs showed one of the lowest prevalence of MetS, whereas the prevalence in OWs is equal to results in other countries. In conclusion, especially the occupational type of female OWs presented elevated factors, that are associated with increased metabolic risk. There is a relevant need for further prospective studies with larger sample sizes in female workers to determine the influence between occupational type and metabolic system.Keywords: female office worker, female police officer, metabolic syndrome, metabolic risk factors, metabolic risk

Keywords

• female office worker – female police officer – metabolic syndrome – metabolic risk factors – metabolic risk