Significance of musculoskeletal and connective tissue parameters as health indicators in Federal Fire-Fighting Service officers of the State Fire-Fighting Service of the EMERCOM of Russia
Authors: Aleksanin S. S. , Evdokimov V. I. , Rybnikov V. Ju. 
Published: March 2023

Relevance. The job of Federal Fire-Fighting Service (FFS) officers of the State Fire-Fighting Service of the EMERCOM of Russia is among the global top 10 occupations with evident risk of health functional reserves depletion, prevalence of early occupational diseases, injuries and even death. Traditionally, investigators focus on circulatory diseases and how they affect firefighters’ occupational health.

The objective is to provide  research-based evidence showing that musculoskeletal and connective tissue parameters provide a reliable estimate of the health status in Russian Federal Fire-Fighting Service officers.

Methodology. The authors analyzed the research papers included in the Russian Science Citation Index mostly within the last 10 years and the studies carried out at the Nikiforov Russian Center of Emergency and Radiation Medicine and at the All-Russian Research Institute for Fire Protection of the EMERCOM of Russia. Morbidity was calculated in ppm (‰), industrial injury and primary disability rates were estimated per 10,000 (×104), mortality (deaths) – per 100,000 (×105) people. The indicators dynamics was estimated based on dynamic sets of data applying the 2nd  order polynomial trend; the Pearson correlation coefficient was utilized to verify consistency of the trends.

Results and analysis. In 2003–2015 the average annual incidence rate of cases with labor losses (across all ICD-10 chapters of diseases) among the EMERCOM Federal Fire Service officers was (407.0 ± 30.4) ‰ which was statistically significantly lower than among the Russian armed forces officers (508.5 ± 35.6) ‰ (p < 0.05); the number of lost workdays was higher, i.e. (5139 ± 402) and (4174 ± 123) ‰ respectively (p < 0.05). Consistency in the dynamics of case number, rate of lost workdays, and day/incident ratio among firefighters and military officers is low and negative, potentially due to the impact of different factors on lost workdays rate. Assuming the macrosocial factors are identical, organisational  and/or occupational factors could be the key contributors to labor losses. Rates of injuries, poisoning and other external impacts (chapter XIX in ICD-10), as well as musculoskeletal and connective tissue diseases (chapter XIII) play the leading  role in morbidity dynamics among firefighters. The mortality rate among the Russian EMERCOM FFS officers with chapter XIX injuries was 8.5 times lower than that among the Russian male population, although the population cohort was 2.5 times more numerous. Occupational injury rate of (14.66 ± 2.01) • 10–4 of injuries/(firefighter • year) and firefighter fatalities (8.53 ± 0.83) • 10–5 deaths/(firefighter • year) in 2006–2020 were statistically significantly lower than among economically active working male population  in Russia: (22.73 ± 2.8) • 10–4 (p < 0.01) and (13.23 ± 1.12) • 10–5 (p < 0.05) respectively. Considering the work schedule of firefighters, the annual amount of work in extreme environments was carried out within 6 months; whereas the level of industrial traumatism due to fire extinguishing and elimination of other emergency situations calculated for 12 months should be doubled, to say the least. The level of primary disability among Russian Federal Fire Service employees was (15.98 ± 0.99) • 10–4, i.e. statistically reliably lower (p < 0.001) than among the working population of Russia aged 18–44 years (25.51 ± 1.19) • 10–4. On the one hand, the data demonstrates efficient labor set-up and labor protection of the EMERCOM FFS employees, whereas disability rate among the adult population of Russia stays at a high level, on the other hand.

Conclusion. Although not entirely eliminated, negative occupational impacts (i.e. diseases, injuries) can be reduced to minimal rates. Preventing the early onset of occupational diseases, especially traumas and musculoskeletal diseases, has a huge health sparing potential to ensure professional longevity of the EMERCOM FFS employees.