Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) in active New York City police officers as detected by coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring.
Methods: We assessed 2064 New York City police officers who underwent electron beam computed tomography for quantification of CAC.
Results: The mean age of study subjects was 42 +/- 6 years. A CAC score of 0 was present in 74% of men and 80% of women. A subset of 75 officers with known early exposure to World Trade Center dust were evaluated separately.
Conclusion: New York City police officers do not have an increased prevalence of CAD compared with the general population as assessed with CAC scoring. At 5 years, exposure to World Trade Center dust does not appear to increase the risk of premature CAD.