Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Related Factors in Male Firefighters in a Metropolitan City

Deuk-Yong Shin; Man-Joong Jeon; Joon Sakong

doi:10.0000/kjoem.2012.24.4.397

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Shin, Jeon, and Sakong: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Related Factors in Male Firefighters in a Metropolitan City

Original Article

Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2012; 24(4): 397-409.

Published online: 31 December 2012

DOI: https://doi.org/10.0000/kjoem.2012.24.4.397

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Related Factors in Male Firefighters in a Metropolitan City

Deuk-Yong Shin, Man-Joong Jeon¹, Joon Sakong¹

Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Yeungnam University Hospital, Korea.

¹Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Korea.

Corresponding author (mjoong@yu.ac.kr)

Received 22 August 2012 Revised 26 October 2012 Accepted 26 October 2012

Abstract

Objectives

This study was conducted in order to evaluate the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and related factors in male firefighters in Daegu, Korea.

Methods

A total of 1,261 firefighters from fire stations in Daegu were the subjects of this study. Each firefighter completed a questionnaire on general and occupational matters, experience of traumatic events, and impact of event scale (IES). The IES questionnaire was administered to subjects in order to determine the high risk group for PTSD. We calculated the IES score and determined that an individual was abnormal if the IES score was over 26.

Results

The average IES score of the firefighters was 11.0±14.3, and the prevalence of high risk firefighters with PTSD was 15.1%. It was found that 40 years of age, fire sergeant, and emergency medical service personnel showed higher prevalence of PTSD than other groups. The most experienced event among traumatic events was 'witness death of victims or patients'. The results of multiple logistic regression analysis for the high risk PTSD group showed that fire sergeant (OR=2.28, 95% CI: 1.28~4.06), fire lieutenant (OR=2.47, 95% CI: 1.14~5.37), fire captain (OR=2.88, 95% CI: 1.11~7.45), firefighting department (OR=2.04, 95% CI: 1.00~4.17), emergency medical service personnel (OR=3.68, 95% CI: 1.47~9.23), total frequency of traumatic events experienced (OR=1.01, 95% CI: 1.00~1.02), and total type of traumatic event experienced (OR=1.35, 95% CI: 1.25~1.46) were significant variables with regards to the reference group (fire fighter and administration department).

Conclusions

These findings indicate that the prevalence of PTSD in firefighters is higher than that in the general population, and fire sergeant, fire lieutenant, fire captain, emergency medical service personnel, firefighting department, total frequency of traumatic events experienced, and total type of traumatic event experienced were significant variables for the PTSD high risk group.

Keywords: Posttraumatic stress disorder, Firefighters, Traumatic event, Cutoff

Figures and Tables

Table 1

General and job-related characteristics of the study subjects (N=1,261)

^*standard deviation.

Table 2

IES^* score and PTSD^†high risk group by general and job-related characteristics

^*IES: impact of event scale.

^†PTSD: posttraumatic stress disorder.

^‡HR: high-risk group of PTSD.

^§values are calculated by Kruskal Wallis test.

^∥values are calculated by Fisher's exact test.

^¶values are calculated by t test.

^**values are calculated by χ² test.

Table 3

Experienced traumatic events of the study subjects

^*standard deviation.

Table 4

Total frequency and type of experienced traumatic events by general and job-related characteristics

^*standard deviation.

^†values are calculated by Kruskal Wallis test.

^‡values are calculated by Mann Whitney U test.

Table 5

Correlation matrix for 3 general and job related characteristics, 2 traumatic event variables and IES score

^*p<0.05, ^**p<0.01.

IES: impact of event scale.

IES score: total score of IES.

Table 6

Crude odds ratio for PTSD high risk group according to general and job related characteristics and traumatic event experience (N=1,261)

^*odds ratio,^†95% confidence interval,^‡reference group.

Table 7

Adjusted odds ratio for PTSD high risk group according to general and job related characteristics and traumatic event experience (N=1,261)

^*multiple logistic regression analysis, adjusted with each variables in the table, odds ratio,^†95% confidence interval.

^‡reference group.

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