Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background Long-term mortality data among Brazilian police officers and firefighters are scarce. This study investigated the leading causes of death in Brazilian male military police officers and firefighters over three decades, comparing their mortality and mean age at death with those of the male population. Methods We retrospectively analyzed death records of male military police officers and firefighters from Espírito Santo (ES), Brazil, from 1988 to 2019. Mortality was analyzed across three decades and the standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for the three leading causes were calculated using the male populations of ES and Brazil as references. Results Overall, 2,198 deaths were identified, with a mean age at death of 59 ± 18.5 years, compared with 60.5 ± 23.9 years among men in ES and 63.4 ± 23.7 years among Brazilian men. Mean age at death was 36 ± 9 years among active-duty and 68 ± 13 years among inactive personnel. Across the study population, the leading causes of death were circulatory system diseases (32%), external causes (26%) and neoplasms (15%). Circulatory disease mortality was higher in the second and third decades compared with both reference populations, whereas external-cause mortality shifted from higher, in the first two decades, to lower than expected in the last decade. Neoplasm mortality was higher relative to Brazil only in the last decade. Conclusion Mortality patterns differed by cause and over time. The younger mean age at death among active-duty personnel, together with cause-specific excess mortality, highlights the importance of long-term occupational health surveillance and preventive strategies.
Source: medRxiv
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7221442318