Risk Factors of Cardiovascular Disease among Ghanaian Police Officers

Background: Cardiovascular diseases continue to be a global public health burden among occupational groups like Police officers. Police officers play important roles to ensure law and order in countries. However, the nature of police work exposes them to violence and stress. Again, irregular food habits, irregular exercise, inadequate sleep, smoking and drinking are lifestyles which makes police officers prone to high incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Aim: This study looked at the prevalence of CVD risk factors among police officers in Kumasi, Ghana.

Study Design: Cross- sectional.

Place and Duration of study: Ashanti Regional Police Headquarters, Kumasi, Ghana, between September, 2017 to July, 2018.

Methodology: Weight, height, Body Mass Index (BMI), waist circumference, lipid profile, systolic and diastolic blood pressure of 120 officers were measured. Additionally, lifestyle and dietary factors such as exercise and intake of fruits of Police officers were assessed. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 22.0.

Results: Slightly more than half (63, 52.5%) of the officers were females and the remaining (57,47.5%) were males. The mean of the various CVD risk factors among the total study participants are as follows; BMI 28.184±4.461 kg/m2, waist circumference 92.702±10.941 cm, systolic blood pressure (SBP) 128.121±17.047 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure (DBP) 85.569±10.854 mmHg, fasting blood sugar 5.387±1.756 mmol/l, high density lipoprotein (HDL) 1.546±0.211 mmol/l, low density lipoprotein 2.321±0.706 mmol/l (LDL) and total cholesterol (TC) 4.362±0.906 mmol/L. Prevalence of obesity among male and female officers were 43.9% and 36.5% respectively. With regards to hypertension, policemen and women recorded 31.6% and 20.6% respectively and dyslipidemia among males and females were 43.9% and 85.7% respectively.

Conclusion: The officers were generally overweight, with over a quarter having hypertension and about two-thirds having dyslipidemia, making their risk for CVDs high. Further studies to elucidate the causes are required, routine medical screening and nutritional support are recommended.