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Shift‐work and suicide ideation among police officers
Author(s) -
Violanti John M.,
Charles Luenda E.,
Hartley Tara A.,
Mnatsakanova Anna,
Andrew Michael E.,
Fekedulegn Desta,
Vila Bryan,
Burchfiel Cecil M.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.20629
Subject(s) - medicine , shift work , suicidal ideation , poisson regression , confidence interval , poison control , psychiatry , injury prevention , demography , population , medical emergency , environmental health , sociology
Background This cross‐sectional study assessed the association of shift work with suicide ideation among police officers. Methods Shift work was based on daily payroll records over 5 years (41 women, 70 men). Standardized psychological measures were employed. ANOVA and Poisson regression were used to evaluate associations. Results Among policewomen with increased depressive symptoms, prevalence of suicide ideation increased by 116% for every 10‐unit increase in percentage of hours worked on day shift (prevalence ratio (PR) = 2.16; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.22–3.71). Among policemen with higher (but not lower) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, prevalence of suicide ideation increased by 13% with every 10‐unit increase in the percentage of hours worked on afternoon shift (PR = 1.13; 95% CI = 1.00–1.22). Conclusion Prevalence of suicide ideation significantly increased among policewomen with higher depressive symptoms and increasing day shift hours, and among policemen with higher PTSD symptoms with increasing afternoon shift hours. Am. J. Ind. Med. 51:758–768, 2008. Published 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.