Work-Related Acute Injuries from Mandatory Fitness Training in the Swedish Police Force

Abstract

Acute injuries in the Swedish Police Force from on-duty fitness training were selected retrospectively from the Information System of Occupational Injuries (ISA) at the National Board of Occupational Safety and Health and, if having caused a sick-leave exceeding 2 weeks, to the Labour Market Insurance (AMF Insurance). The latter included injuries from 1995 only. During the seven-year period 1992 to 1998, 920 injuries (80 % in males) from fitness training involving police officers were reported to the ISA-register. The total incidence was 1.6 for policemen per 10 000 hours of exposure and 2.2 for policewomen, which is 1.4 times higher than in men. Around 50 % of the injuries occurred in team and contact sports, with a slightly higher percentage for males, 54 % versus 49 % in females. The percentage of injuries from self-defense training was twice as high as in women than in men, 29 % versus 15 %. In 1995, 42 of the 72 injuries in males and 6 of the 21 injuries in females caused more than 14 days of sick-leave and were announced to the Occupational No Fault Liability Insurance. The major part, 32 of 48 injuries, came from team or contact sports (mainly floorball and soccer). Six policemen incurred injuries that were classified with a degree of disability ranging from 2 to 5 %. The total cost for medical treatment and production loss for the 48 injuries was Euro 248 448 and 99 336, respectively. Team and contact sports accounted for 89 % of the costs and 77 % of the production loss through sick-leave.

Epidemiology - costs - occupational injuries - sports injuries - sex

References

• 1 Comrie M N. In: Employee Health & Safety Program. Melbourne; Personnel Department, Victoria Police 1997
• 2 de Loës M, Jansson B R. Work-related injuries from mandatory fitness training among Swedish Firemen.  Int J Sports Med. 2001;  22 373-378
• 3 de Loës M. Epidemiology of sports injuries in the swiss organization ‘Youth and Sports' 1987 - 89. Injuries, exposure and risks of main diagnosis.  Int J Sports Med. 1995;  16 134-138
• 4 Franke W D, Anderson D F. Relationship between physical activity and risk factors for cardiovascular disease among law enforcement officers.  J Occup Med. 1994;  36 1127-1132
• 5 Jansson B, Springfeldt B, Bengtsson B, Landgren B. National cost surveillance of occupational injuries using a record linkage.  Submitted.
• 6 National Board of Occupational Safety and Health and Statistics Sweden .Occupational diseases and occupational accidents 1997. Stockholm; Official Statistics of Sweden 1999
• 7 Persson U. Three Economic Approaches to Valuing Benefits of Traffic Safety Measures. Licentiate dissertation in economics at Lund University. Lund; 1992
• 8 Smolander J, Louhevaara V, Oja P. Policemen’s physical fitness in relation to the frequency of leisure-time physical exercise.  Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 1984;  54 295-302
• 9 Sorensen L, Smolander J, Louhevaara V, Korhonen O, Oja P. Physical activity, fitness and body composition of Finnish police officers: a 15-year follow-up study.  Occup Med (Lond). 2000;  50 3-10
• 10 Statistics Sweden: National Social Insurance Board .Official statistics of Sweden. Stockholm; 1999
• 11 Statistics Sweden .The information system on occupational injuries and the investigation on occupationally caused impairment. Background facts for the statistics of the Labour market and Education. (SCB: Informationssystemet om arbetsskador och undersökningen om arbetsorsakade besvär - En jämförande studie. Bakgrundsfakta till Arbetsmarknads- och utbildningsstatistiken 1999 : 4. In Swedish). Stockholm; 1999
• 12 Williams M A, Petratis M M, Baechle T R, Ryschon K L, Campain J J, Sketch M H. Frequency of physical activity, exercise capacity, and atherosclerotic heart disease risk factors in male police officers.  J Occup Med. 1987;  29 596-600