Exercise & Diet Effects on CV Risk in Firefighters

University of New Hampshire

Status: Completed

Conditions: Health Promotion; Diet Modification; Cardiovascular Risk Factor; Exercise; Blood Pressure

Treatments: Behavioral: Circuit Training exercise & Modified Mediterranean diet

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03344198

005-8242-01

Details and patient eligibility

About

The study will explore the capacity for a lifestyle modification in firefighters to improve blood pressure, blood vessel stiffness, inflammation, and reduce oxidative stress. The study will be a pre- post-testing controlled trial with three groups. The intervention will be a weekly circuit workout program and a Mediterranean (high fruit/vegetable) diet. The groups will be firefighters with >10yrs experience, firefighters with <10yrs experience, and control Non-firefighters.

Full description

Recent statistics from the American Heart Association (AHA) have reported that >92% of adults in the U.S. meet at least 1 metric for cardiovascular disease risk factors. In firefighters, this increased risk is especially concerning. The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) estimates there are around 1.3 million firefighters in the United States, 70% of which are volunteer. The prevalence of impaired cardiovascular health is higher in firefighters than in the general population and the leading line-of-duty death (LODD) cause is cardiac related. It is known that exercise and diet mitigate cardiovascular disease risk. Meeting the physical activity guidelines remains a target of ideal cardiovascular health and a major public health concern. However, the NFPA does not require volunteer fire companies to have a fitness program for their crew, and sadly less than a third of the stations actually do. And importantly, cardiovascular-related LODD remains a major issue in the firefighter population. The results could guide clinical treatment for firefighters and may therefore reduce cardiac-related LODD.

Enrollment: 200 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 70 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Adult
• Able to Exercise

Exclusion criteria

• More than one anti-hypertensive medication
• More than one cholesterol medication
• Diabetic
• Prior Cardiac incident

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Non-Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

---

200 participants in 3 patient groups

Firefighter (Veteran) Group

Experimental group

Description:

Firefighters with \>10yrs experience. Circuit Training exercise \& Modified Mediterranean diet

Treatment:

Behavioral: Circuit Training exercise & Modified Mediterranean diet

Firefighter (Novice) Group

Experimental group

Description:

Firefighters with \<10yrs experience. Circuit Training exercise \& Modified Mediterranean diet

Treatment:

Behavioral: Circuit Training exercise & Modified Mediterranean diet

Control Non-Firefighter Group

Experimental group

Description:

Non-Firefighter adults. Circuit Training exercise \& Modified Mediterranean diet

Treatment:

Behavioral: Circuit Training exercise & Modified Mediterranean diet