The effect of age on fitness among female firefighters

Abstract

Background The physical demands of firefighting require both cardiovascular and muscular fitness, which both decline with age. While much has been published on age-related changes among male firefighters (FFs), data on female FFs are lacking. Aims To describe cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and muscular fitness in a sample of female career FFs ranging in age from 25 to 60 years and determine whether ageing affects their achievement of the current recommended professional CRF standards of 12 metabolic equivalents (METs). Methods Data were collected on female FFs over an 11-year period. A cross-sectional analysis using one-way analysis of variance with Bonferroni post hoc comparisons was used to compare age groups. Results There were 96 study participants. Maximum METs was significantly higher (P < 0.01) in the 25- to 34-year age group (14.6 ± 2.1) compared with the 35-44 age group (12.9 ± 2.0 METs) and the 45-54 age group (12.2 ± 1.8 METs, P < 0.001). While the mean values of all measured age groups met or exceeded the 12-MET profession standard, as many as one-third of FFs < 45 years of age and 43% of FFs > 45 years of age fell below the benchmark of 12 METs. Muscular fitness as measured by maximum number of push-ups, sit-ups and back endurance was not significantly different between age groups. Conclusions Fire departments should recognize and take steps to ensure all female FFs maintain CRF and muscular fitness throughout their careers.