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Salivary cortisol profiles of on-call from home fire and emergency service personnel
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posted on 2019-01-01, 00:00 authored by Sarah HallSarah Hall, Anne TurnerAnne Turner, Samuel J Robertson, Sally A Ferguson, Brad AisbettBrad AisbettWorking on-call with a night call resulted in a depressed (lower) cortisol awakening response (CAR) peak and post-awakening cortisol area under the curve with respect to ground (AUCG) the following day compared to when off-call. This may be due to exposure to noise, physical exertion, and stressful events during night callouts. There was no anticipatory effect to working on-call in any of the cortisol measures examined. This study, of male fire and emergency service workers who operate on-call from home, had two aims: (1) examine CAR and diurnal cortisol profile following a night on-call with a call, on-call without a call, and off-call; and, (2) explore whether there is an anticipatory effect of working on-call from home on diurnal cortisol profiles. Participants wore activity monitors, completed sleep and work diaries and collected seven saliva samples a day (0 min, 30 min, 60 min, 3 h, 6 h, 9 h, and 12 h after final awakening) for one week. CAR peak, reactivity and area under the curve with respect to increase (AUCI), post-awakening cortisol AUCG, diurnal cortisol slope and AUCG, and mean 12-h cortisol concentrations were calculated. The final analysis included 26 participants for Aim 1 (22 off-call nights, 68 nights on-call without a call, and 20 nights on-call with a call) and 14 participants for Aim 2 (25 days leading up to a night off-call and 92 days leading up to a night on-call). Generalized estimating equations models were constructed for each variable of interest. Aim 1: CAR peak and post-awakening cortisol AUCG were 8.2 ± 3.4 nmol/L and 5.7 ± 2.4 units lower, respectively, following a night on-call with a call compared to an off-call night. Aim 2: the day before a night on-call was not a significant predictor in any model. The lower CAR peak and post-awakening cortisol AUCG following a night on-call with a call compared to following an off-call night may be due to exposure to noise, physical exertion, and stressful events during night callouts. The lack of difference between the day before a night on-call and the day before an off-call night suggests there may not be an anticipatory effect on cortisol when on-call from home.
History
Journal
StressVolume
22Issue
4Pagination
436 - 445Publisher
Taylor & FrancisLocation
Abingdon, Eng.Publisher DOI
eISSN
1607-8888Language
engPublication classification
C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2019, Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis GroupUsage metrics
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Cortisol awakening response (CAR)diurnal cortisol profiledistal on-callhome callfirefightersstate emergency service workersScience & TechnologyLife Sciences & BiomedicineBehavioral SciencesEndocrinology & MetabolismNeurosciencesNeurosciences & NeurologyAWAKENING RESPONSESLEEPSTRESSACTIGRAPHYWORKAXISEXPLORATIONQUALITYHEALTHADULTS
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