Hormonal responses to a stress load and state anxiety, mood, tiredness, and recovery in Portuguese police cadets.

INTRODUCTION

Police officers are repeatedly exposed to conditions and incidents unique to their work.

OBJECTIVES

To describe the hormonal response to a stress load (circuit fitness test) in police cadets, and to verify the association of hormone responses (cortisol and testosterone) with state anxiety, mood, tiredness, and recovery.

METHODS

This is an analytical, observational, cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach. A total of 31 police cadets (all male; age 21.0 ± 4.4 years) were evaluated on February 4, 2022, at Instituto Superior de Ciências Policiais e Segurança Interna, Lisbon, Portugal, in four dimensions: morphological, fitness for police work (simulated circuit), hormonal (cortisol and testosterone responses), and psychological (anxiety, mood, stress, and recovery).

RESULTS

We observed differences in cortisol concentration upon awakening and the reference value; a decrease in cortisol and testosterone concentrations until the time of fitness testing; and increases in cortisol and testosterone concentrations in response to completing the fitness test. Regarding the hormone response in anticipation of the fitness test, there is a direct correlation of cortisol with hostility and social stress and an inverse correlation of testosterone with conflicts/pressure, sleep quality, emotional exhaustion, and the sum of the recovery and stress scales. Regarding the hormone response to actually performing the task, a positive correlation was found between cortisol and personal acceptance and self-regulation.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that the police cadets exhibited a healthy response to the proposed stress situation. However, whether they would respond likewise in real-world scenarios is unclear.