Department of Nursing, School of Health and Welfare, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden.
Department of Biomedical and Clinical Science, Clinical Chemistry, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
Sci Rep. 2023 Aug 8;13(1):12877. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-40076-x.
Ambulance personnel in emergency medical services are exposed to physical demands and stress during work, and an increased prevalence of ill health has been observed in this group. The aim was to compare hair cortisol concentration (HCC) among Swedish ambulance personnel with HCC in a population-based reference sample, to analyse differences between women and men, and differences due to work-related factors. Samples of hair 1 cm closest to the skin (5-10 mg) were collected and analysed for cortisol by radioimmunoassay. Moreover, the participants responded to a questionnaire regarding their work environment. The HCC among the ambulance personnel did not differ from the HCC in the population-based reference sample (median 19.2 vs. 22.2 pg/mg, p = 0.319), nor were there statistically significant differences between women and men. Furthermore, no associations were found between HCC and physical and psychosocial work demands, work stress, or rest and recovery from work. However, occupational balance was positively correlated with HCC (r = 0.240; p = 0.044). The association remained statistically significant after adjustment for sex, age, hair bleaching, and corticosteroid treatment in a linear regression model. This study adds knowledge regarding HCC among ambulance personnel, and thus contributes to the overall picture of work environment and health for this group.
急救医疗服务中的急救人员在工作中会承受身体和精神上的压力，并且该群体的健康问题也日益突出。本研究旨在比较瑞典急救人员与人群参考样本中的头发皮质醇浓度 (HCC)，分析女性和男性之间的差异以及因工作相关因素造成的差异。采集距离头皮最近 1cm 处的头发样本（5-10mg），并用放射免疫分析法检测皮质醇。此外，参与者还需完成一份关于其工作环境的问卷。急救人员的 HCC 与人群参考样本中的 HCC 无显著差异（中位数 19.2 与 22.2pg/mg，p=0.319），且女性和男性之间也无统计学差异。此外，HCC 与生理和心理社会工作需求、工作压力或工作与休息的恢复之间均无关联。然而，职业平衡与 HCC 呈正相关（r=0.240；p=0.044）。在校正性别、年龄、头发漂染和皮质激素治疗后，线性回归模型中的相关性仍具有统计学意义。本研究增加了有关急救人员 HCC 的知识，有助于全面了解该群体的工作环境和健康状况。
