Perceived Health Risks Among Firefighters; The New Jersey Firefighter Health Survey

Objective: There is a growing literature on the risk of chronic disease among firefighters, including cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer. However there is little information on firefighter's perception thereof.

Methods: Firefighters attending a union convention in New Jersey completed a survey with four domains: firefighting experience; perceived additional risk for chronic diseases (six-point Likert scale); cancer screening history; demographics, and risk behaviors.

Results: Among 167 enrolled firefighters, all were men and 86.6% active career. Median perceived risk ranged from high risk (colon, hematologic, breast, prostate, and testicular cancers) to very high risk (CVD, pulmonary diseases, all cancers, lung and oral cancer).

Conclusions: NJ Firefighters attributed considerable additional risk to acquiring chronic disease as a result of their firefighting activities. Understanding firefighter perceptions of their own morbidity and mortality will help develop future firefighter preparatory programs.