Fundamental Insights into Health and Occupational Anxiety among Firefighters in the Context of Retirement Age Extension

Abstract

Purpose: To describe health status and job-related anxiety among firefighters by age group and job type in the context of Japan’s extended retirement policy.

Methods: We collected medical history, current disease, and medication use; presence and sites of bodily burden; and job-related anxiety (presence; intensity by Numeric Rating Scale [NRS], 0–10; free-text content coded into categories). Descriptive statistics were summarized overall, by age, and by job type.

Results: Medical history, current disease, and medication use were reported by 33.3%, 19.6%, and 15.2%, respectively. Bodily burden was present in 52.2%, most commonly low back (34.8%), shoulder girdle (13.8%), and neck (13.0%). Job-related anxiety was present in 36.2%, with intensity median [IQR] 0 [0–3]. Age patterns showed more trauma history in the 30s; hypertension/dyslipidemia in the 40s–50s; and diabetes in the 60s (small cell). Shoulder-girdle and gluteal burden were relatively more frequent from the 40s onward. By job type, headquarters staff had higher proportions of medical history/current disease/medication, more neck burden, and higher prevalence/intensity of anxiety, whereas field staff more often reported low-back and thigh burden.

Conclusions: Health and anxiety profiles differ by age and job type. In preparation for extended retirement, a stratified, integrated health strategy is warranted—prioritizing reduction of sedentariness and neck strain in headquarters, and lumbar-focused musculoskeletal prevention for field crews—with physical therapists embedded in program design and follow-up.