PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Older firefighters may be more resilient to working in heat

2014-01-08
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Nicole Racadag
nracadag@aiha.org
703-846-0700
American Industrial Hygiene Association
Older firefighters may be more resilient to working in heat FALLS CHURCH, Va. (January 8, 2014) — Older firefighters who are chronically exposed to heat stress on the job could be more heat resilient over time. A recent study published in the December issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene (JOEH) found that older firefighters may be able to tolerate more challenging or arduous work environments before they feel affected by the heat, compared to non-heat-exposed workers who would need to stop work prematurely.

"We found that the firefighters experienced reduced subjective feelings of thermal and cardiovascular strain during exercise compared to the non-firefighters, potentially indicative of greater heat resilience in firefighters due to the nature of their occupation," said study investigator Glen P. Kenny, PhD, a professor at the School of Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa in Ontario, Canada.

The researchers examined a group of older, physically active non-firefighters and firefighters, approximately 51 years old, during intermittent exercise in two heat stress conditions, to investigate the potential thermal, cardiovascular and hydration effects of repeated occupational heat stress.

While Kenny and his colleagues found no differences in the level of thermal and cardiovascular strain between the older heat-exposed firefighters and non-heat-exposed older workers, the non-heat-exposed workers felt more heat stressed relative to the older firefighters and felt that the work performed was physically more challenging.

"If you have older workers who work in the heat, they are in a better position to handle working in the heat as compared to their non-heat-exposed counterparts," said Kenny. "If they can better handle the heat stress, they can better perform challenging tasks without putting themselves at greater risks of injuries caused by impairments in mental function, alertness, concentration, motor dexterity and coordination."

Prior to this study, physiological strain had been examined in young and middle-aged firefighters during live firefighting and simulated drills, but the responses of older and more experienced firefighters had not previously been investigated.

"Our discovery is especially important given recent findings that aging can decrease an individual's ability to dissipate heat and therefore work in hot environments," added Kenny.

### Read the full study, which was funded by a research grant provided by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (Ontario): http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15459624.2013.821574#.Us1jv9JDuTN

Read an article in the October 2013 issue of The Synergist, AIHA's magazine, about how firefighters can better protect themselves against the various hazards commonly associated with fires: https://www.aiha.org/publications-and-resources/TheSynergist/Documents/October%202013%20Synergist-Firefighting-A%20Toxic%20Profession.pdf

ATTRIBUTION TO THE JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HYGIENE IS REQUESTED IN ALL NEWS COVERAGE.

JOEH is published jointly by the American Industrial Hygiene Association® (AIHA) and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists® (ACGIH). JOEH enhances the knowledge and practice of occupational and environmental hygiene and safety. It provides a written medium for the communication of ideas, methods, processes, and research in the areas of occupational, industrial, and environmental hygiene; exposure assessment; engineering controls; occupational and environmental epidemiology, medicine, and toxicology; ergonomics; and other related disciplines.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Scientists make your stomach turn bright green if you have an ulcer

2014-01-08
Scientists make your stomach turn bright green if you have an ulcer Doctors may soon be able to diagnose stomach ulcers without taking tissue samples from the stomach. Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark now report to have developed a new, safer and noninvasive ...

Does the body's immune response to viral vector delivery systems affect the safety or efficacy of gene therapy?

2014-01-08
Does the body's immune response to viral vector delivery systems affect the safety or efficacy of gene therapy? New Rochelle, NY, January 7, 2014—Packaging replacement genes in viruses is an effective method to deliver them to target ...

Research reveals new therapeutic target for Huntington's disease

2014-01-08
Research reveals new therapeutic target for Huntington's disease

Geography has impact on grapevine moth's success in French vineyards

2014-01-08
Geography has impact on grapevine moth's success in French vineyards Study sheds light on how regional differences, local temperatures influence immune function of pests 'Location, location, location' is an adage also true for the European grapevine moth, it seems. Research ...

Laundering money -- literally -- could save billions of dollars

2014-01-08
Laundering money -- literally -- could save billions of dollars A dollar bill gets around, passing from hand to hand, falling on streets and sidewalks, eventually getting so grimy that a bank machine flags it and sends it to the shredder. Rather than destroying ...

Newly discovered celestial object defies categories

2014-01-08
Newly discovered celestial object defies categories Scientists asking if it is a new kind of planet or a rare kind of failed star TORONTO, ON – An object discovered by astrophysicists at the University of Toronto (U of T) nearly 500 light years away from the Sun ...

Metal ink could ease the way toward flexible electronic books, displays

2014-01-08
Metal ink could ease the way toward flexible electronic books, displays Scientists are reporting the development of a novel metal ink made of small sheets of copper that can be used to write a functioning, flexible electric circuit on regular printer paper. ...

Green space can make people happier for years

2014-01-08
Green space can make people happier for years Nearly 10 years after the term "nature deficit disorder" entered the nation's vocabulary, research is showing for the first time that green space does appear to improve mental health in a sustained way. The report, ...

Top chemical advances and more from the year 2013

2014-01-08
Top chemical advances and more from the year 2013 From stretchy electronics to Martian chemistry, the most notable advances in the chemical world in 2013 appear in the year-in-review issue of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the ...

AML score that combines genetic and epigenetic changes might help guide therapy

2014-01-08
AML score that combines genetic and epigenetic changes might help guide therapy COLUMBUS, Ohio – Currently, doctors use chromosome markers and gene mutations to determine the best treatment for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Breathable yet protective: Next-gen medical textiles with micro/nano networks

Frequency-engineered MXene supercapacitors enable efficient pulse charging in TENG–SC hybrid systems

Developed an AI-based classification system for facial pigmented lesions

Achieving 20% efficiency in halogen-free organic solar cells via isomeric additive-mediated sequential processing

New book Terraglossia reclaims language, Country and culture

The most effective diabetes drugs don't reach enough patients yet

Breast cancer risk in younger women may be influenced by hormone therapy

Strategies for staying smoke-free after rehab

Commentary questions the potential benefit of levothyroxine treatment of mild hypothyroidism during pregnancy

Study projects over 14 million preventable deaths by 2030 if USAID defunding continues

New study reveals 33% gap in transplant access for UK’s poorest children

Dysregulated epigenetic memory in early embryos offers new clues to the inheritance of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

IVF and IUI pregnancy rates remain stable across Europe, despite an increasing uptake of single embryo transfer

It takes a village: Chimpanzee babies do better when their moms have social connections

From lab to market: how renewable polymers could transform medicine

Striking increase in obesity observed among youth between 2011 and 2023

No evidence that medications trigger microscopic colitis in older adults

NYUAD researchers find link between brain growth and mental health disorders

Aging-related inflammation is not universal across human populations, new study finds

University of Oregon to create national children’s mental health center with $11 million federal grant

Rare achievement: UTA undergrad publishes research

Fact or fiction? The ADHD info dilemma

Genetic ancestry linked to risk of severe dengue

Genomes reveal the Norwegian lemming as one of the youngest mammal species

Early birds get the burn: Monash study finds early bedtimes associated with more physical activity

Groundbreaking analysis provides day-by-day insight into prehistoric plankton’s capacity for change

Southern Ocean saltier, hotter and losing ice fast as decades-long trend unexpectedly reverses

Human fishing reshaped Caribbean reef food webs, 7000-year old exposed fossilized reefs reveal

Killer whales, kind gestures: Orcas offer food to humans in the wild

Hurricane ecology research reveals critical vulnerabilities of coastal ecosystems

[Press-News.org] Older firefighters may be more resilient to working in heat