You may think your average US police officer is big and tough, but their physical and mental wellbeing is more at risk than you realise. This is according to a new University of Buffalo study, published in a special issue of the International Journal of Emergency Mental Health, which found that police officers are at an extremely greater risk of having long term physical and mental issues.
After a five-year investigation, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the researchers concluded that the ‘daily psychological stresses that police officers experience in their work put them at significantly higher risk than the general population for a host of long-term physical and mental health effects.’ According to principal Investigator John Violanti, there was a link between daily stressors of police work and obesity, suicide, sleeplessness and cancer in police officers and the general population.
Violanti commented, ‘This is one of the first police population-based studies to test the association between the stress of being a police officer and psychological and health outcomes. We wanted to know, in addition to stress, what are other contributing factors that lead to cardiovascular disease in police?’ Based on a study of 500 police officers, the researchers found:
- 40% of the officers, and 32% of the general population, were obese
- More than 25% of the officers had metabolic syndrome, compared to under 19% of the general population
- Police officers were at increased risk of developing Hodgkin’s lymphoma and brain cancer after 30 years of service
- Working officers had an eight-times higher suicide rate than officers who had retired or left the police force.
Violanti added, ‘The police culture doesn’t look favourably on people who have problems. Not only are you supposed to be superhuman if you’re an officer, but you fear asking for help. Police officers who reveal that they suffer from a chronic disease or health problem may lose financial status, professional reputation or both. If you have heart disease, you may not be allowed to go back on the street. That’s a real threat. If you go for mental health counselling, you may not be considered for promotions and you may be shamed by your peers and superiors. In some cases, your gun can be taken away, so there is a real fear of going for help.’
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