Mortality among Brazilian male police officers and firefighters over three decades

Abstract

BackgroundLong-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.

MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed death records of male military police officers and firefighters from Espirito 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.

ResultsOverall, 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.

ConclusionMortality 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.

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BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@misc{teixeira2026mortality,
  title = {{Mortality among Brazilian male police officers and firefighters over three decades}},
  author = {E. M. Teixeira and F. C. Damacena and F. B. de Souza and R. D. Jarske and L. G. Grossi-Porto and E. Zandonade and K. N. Sampaio},
  howpublished = {medRxiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.64898/2026.10.08.26365007},
  url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.08.26365007v1},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}

RIS

TY  - UNPB
TI  - Mortality among Brazilian male police officers and firefighters over three decades
AU  - E. M. Teixeira
AU  - F. C. Damacena
AU  - F. B. de Souza
AU  - R. D. Jarske
AU  - L. G. Grossi-Porto
AU  - E. Zandonade
AU  - K. N. Sampaio
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/08
PB  - medRxiv
DO  - 10.64898/2026.10.08.26365007
UR  - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.08.26365007v1
AB  - BackgroundLong-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.  MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed death records of male military police officers and firefighters from Espirito 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.  ResultsOverall, 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.  ConclusionMortality 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.
ER  -

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