The relationship between the levels of stress and the age and years of service of military firefighters from the fire rescue corps of the metropolitan area of the state of São Paulo.

PURPOSE: To verify the relationship between stress indicators and the age and years of service of military firefighters from the fire rescue corps of the metropolitan area of the state of São Paulo. METHODS: Forty military firefighters with the mean age of 37.9 ± 5.4 years, from the 1st, 2nd and 8th fire brigades of the metropolitan area of São Paulo participated in this study. All underwent clinical, physical and psychological evaluations to verify the relationship between the age and years of service with the variables of levels of stress (tension, depression, anger, vigor, fatigue, confusion and total stress) on workdays and on days off. RESULTS: On workdays, the mean scores for tension, depression, fatigue and stress were overall higher compared to those on days off. The older the firefighter, the higher the levels of stress, depression, anger and total stress. The more years of service, the greater the depression and anger. CONCLUSIONS: The levels of stress were high on workdays. Chronological age and years of service influenced the increase in the scores of stress.