The Airwave Health Monitoring Study

Aims
The Airwave Health Monitoring Study is an occupational cohort study which was established to evaluate the possible health risks associated with use of Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA), a digital communication system used by the police force. Due to the collection of extensive phenotypic data, biological samples, and the availability of linked health data, the study has been broadened to investigate more generally the health and social outcomes of working in the police force in Great Britain.

Institution
Imperial College London

Geographic coverage - Nations
England, Scotland, Wales

Geographic coverage - Regions
Nationwide

Start date
2004

Catalogue record last updated
10/04/2024

Sample type
Occupational cohort

Sample details
Employees of all 54 police forces as well as police-related agencies within Great Britain were invited to participate. Since the commencement of the study, a total of 28 forces have agreed to participate. Participants completed enrolment questionnaires during the first phase of the study. The second phase of the study consisted of a health screening performed locally by trained nurses. Overall, 16% of participants completed only phase one, 58% completed only phase two, and 26% completed both phases. Additionally, 62.9% of the participants are men, and the average age at enrolment was 40.9 years for men and 38.5 years for women.

Sample size at recruitment
53,000

Sample size at most recent sweep
17,577 (2015 - Follow-up Clinic Questionnaire)

Sex
All

Age at recruitment
18+

Cohort year of birth
Varied