Is job-related stress the link between cardiovascular disease and the law enforcement profession?

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether job-related stress is associated with alterations in pro- and anti-atherogenic inflammatory mediators among law enforcement officers. METHODS: Markers of vascular inflammation and the self-reported stress measures of perceived stress, vital exhaustion, job strain, effort-reward imbalance, and social support were compared between officers (N = 444) and non-officers (N = 166). RESULTS: Officers had higher levels of IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-alpha and lower levels of C-reactive protein and fibrinogen. No more than 4% of the variability in any of the inflammatory mediators was explained by any stress measure for either the two groups or the entire sample. CONCLUSIONS: Law enforcement officers may be at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease due to a relatively greater pro-inflammatory vascular environment. However, this increased risk cannot be attributed to either chronic stress or the work-related stress measures assessed here.