Firefighter's Acute Inflammatory Response to Wildfire Suppression. Issue 2 (February 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Main, Luana C.; Wolkow, Alexander P.; Tait, Jamie L.; Della Gatta, Paul; Raines, Jenni; Snow, Rodney; Aisbett, Brad
• Is Part Of: Journal of occupational and environmental medicine. Volume 62:Issue 2(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-02
• Subjects: firefighters -- inflammation -- interleukin-6 -- natural disaster -- stress; Medicine, Industrial -- Periodicals; Environmental health -- Periodicals; Occupational Medicine -- Periodicals; Environmental Medicine -- Periodicals; Environmental health; Medicine, Industrial; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 616.9803
• DOI: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000001775
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1076-2752

Abstract

Abstract : Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the inflammatory response to a 12-hour wildfire suppression shift, in firefighters attending the "Black Saturday" natural disaster. Methods: Thirty-eight male volunteer firefighters provided venous blood samples before and after a 12-hour firefighting shift. Pre- to post-shift changes in pro-inflammatory (Interleukin [IL]-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-12P70, granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor [GM-CSF], tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-α], interferon-gamma [IFNγ]), and anti-inflammatory (IL-4, IL-5, IL-7, IL-10, IL-13) cytokines were measured with paired sample t tests, or Wilcoxon t tests for non-parametric data. Results: Interleukin (IL)-6 ( P = 0.003) and IL-8 ( P = 0.017) were significantly increased following 12-hours of wildfire suppression. There was also a significant decrease in IL-10 ( P = 0.021). Conclusions: The observed acute inflammatory response may have resulted from multiple stressors including physical exertion, thermal strain, or smoke inhalation experienced during the shift, and may be a necessary response for the body to adapt to stressor exposure.