TAMPA, Fla. — In 2019, Life Scan Wellness Centers formed a research partnership with Denise Smith, Ph.D., FACSM and the Skidmore College First Responder Health and Safety Laboratory, which is dedicated to better understanding and preventing sudden cardiac events in firefighters.
Life Scan Wellness Centers, the Nation’s leading provider of firefighter physicals, www.lifescanwellness.com, provided de-identified laboratory results as well as corresponding cardiac echocardiograms from a cohort of firefighters undergoing annual occupational physical exams. The Skidmore research team analyzed the data and produced an article, titled “The effect of low and borderline testosterone on left ventricular wall thickness in US fire fighters” which has been published in the highly respected scientific journal, Andrology.
The researchers found that firefighters with low or borderline serum testosterone levels had lower left ventricular wall thickness, suggesting a possible “preclinical” low testosterone condition that may increase cardiovascular risk. Further studies will continue to evolve our understanding of this condition in firefighters and the implications for treatment and screening. Life Scan Wellness Centers looks forward to continuing our participation in cutting edge research to enhance the health, safety and survival of firefighters across the Nation. Read the paper here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/andr.12860
“We are thrilled to work with Dr. Denise Smith and her research team to generate scientific research studies which are an important way to inform occupational health exams aimed at decreasing preventable cardiac deaths,” said Patricia Johnson, Life Scan Wellness CEO and Co-Founder. Further, Life Scan Wellness Centers Chief Strategy Officer and International Association of Fire Chiefs Safety, Health & Survival Board Member Todd LeDuc said,” Tragically, we continue to lose far too many of our Nations firefighters from potentially preventable sudden cardiac events in the line of duty. This research and future studies, are an important step to addressing that preventable risk through enhanced screening and potential interventions, prior to tragedy striking.”
About Life Scan Wellness Centers
Life Scan Wellness Centers is the Nations largest provider of comprehensive early detection integrated physicals of first responders in the United States. Learn more at www.lifescanwellness.com.