Longitudinal changes in cardiorespiratory fitness among firefighters based on a fixed 12.0 MET standard and an age-adjusted fitness standard

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Nogueira, Rosenkranz Maciel^{a; b; c} | Saint-Martin, Daniel Rodrigues Ferreira^{a; b} | Barreto, Kevin Alves^{a; b} | Von Koenig Soares, Edgard M. K.^{a; b} | Smith, Denise L.^d | Molina, Guilherme E.^{a; b} | Porto, Luiz Guilherme Grossi^{a; b; *}

Affiliations: [a] Universidade de Brasılia, Faculdade de Educação Física, Brasılia, Brazil | [b] Universidade de Brasılia, Grupo de Estudos em Fisiologia e Epidemiologia do Exercício e da Atividade Física (GEAFS), Brasılia, Brazil | [c] Federal District Military Firefighter Brigade CBMDF, Brasilia, Brazil | [d] First Responder Health and Safety Laboratory, Department of Health and Human Physiological Sciences, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY, USA

Correspondence: [*] Address for correspondence: Luiz Guilherme Grossi Porto, B.P.E., MSc., PhD., Universidade de Brasılia, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, Asa Norte, Brasılia, DF, 70910-900, Brazil. E-mails: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected].

Abstract: BACKGROUND:Firefighting is a physically demanding profession. Firefighters (FFs) need adequate physical fitness (PF) to perform duty tasks efficiently. While FFs’ work demands are constant throughout their career, there is an expected age-related decline in PF. OBJECTIVE:To describe longitudinal changes in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) based on a fixed (12.0 METs) and an age-adjusted standard and compare the prevalence of fit/unfit firefighters (FFs) over eight years. METHODS:297 Brazilian male firefighters were randomly selected. CRF was assessed by the 12-minute Cooper test. To compare the prevalence’s of fit/unfit FFs depending on the standard (12 METs vs. age-adjusted), the McNemar test was used. RESULTS:The reduction in the prevalence of fit firefighters was 4.4-fold higher when the analysis did not consider age. CONCLUSION:After eight years, the prevalence of fit FFs decreased by 30.5% based on the fixed standard, while this reduction was only 7% when using an age-adjusted standard.

Keywords: Occupational health, aging, body mass index

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-220608

Journal: Work, vol. 76, no. 2, pp. 821-829, 2023