Body Mass Index And Its Association To Musculoskeletal Injury Risk In Fire Cadets

Body Mass Index (BMI) is often used to indicate a healthy body weight. A BMI at or above 25.0 kg/m2 is not only associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease but may also be associated with an increased risk of occupational injury. PURPOSE: The study aimed to explore the association of BMI and musculoskeletal Injury (MSI) risk in fire cadets. METHODS: The study is a retrospective analysis of data collected from a previous study. The original data collection occurred within the 1st 2 weeks of a 5-month academy. The original data collection consisted of the following assessments: height, weight, dynamic balance, isometric left test, shoulder mobility, active straight leg raise, vertical jump, and estimated VO2. Injury surveillance reports over the 5-month academy were merged with each cadet’s fitness data. An injury episode was defined as any physical damage suffered by a cadet requiring him or her to report the injury through the Department’s Injury Hotline. For the analysis fire cadets were placed in 1 of 2 categories based on BMI values (normal or overweight/obese). Those cadets below 18.5 kg/m2 were excluded (n = 1). 104 male fire cadets were included in the analysis, with 24 (23.1%) classified as normal (26.63 ± 4.76 yrs; 176.48 ± 7.01 cm, 70.93 ± 9.68 kg, 22.69 kg/m2) and 80 (76.9%) as overweight/obese (26.26 ± 4.48 yrs; 180.43 ± 5.85 cm, 93.94 ± 12.34 kg, 28.84 ± 3.32 kg/m2). A 2x2 contingency table was created dichotomizing those who suffered an MSI and those who did not, and those below the BMI of 25.0 kg/m2 and those equal to or greater than 25.0 kg/m2. Relative Risk (RR) was calculated to determine the association of BMI to MSI risk. RESULTS: Of those categorized as overweight/obese, 20 (25%) suffered from MSI compared to 6 (25%) of those classified as normal suffering an MSI. The RR of those classified as overweight/obese compared to normal suffering an MSI was 1.00 (95% CI, 0.454 to 2.204). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that fire cadets classified as overweight/obese are no more likely to suffer an MSI than cadets classified as normal. Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology: Project No. HR18-054