Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The link between occupational factors and coronary artery diseases (CAD) has been studied and confirmed in many countries. Conditions associated with driving such as stress, and factors such as long working hours and the environment can increase the risk of CAD. In this study, we measured potential CAD risk factors in bus and taxi drivers and compared them with a control group.

methods: 135 taxi drivers, 194 bus drivers and 121 non-drivers (control group) were evaluated for CAD risk factors, i.e. age, body mass index (BMI>24), cigarette smoking, hypertension, high-density and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL, LDL), triglyceride >200, blood sugar >126 and familial history of CAD. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression tests were used to distinguish major risk factors.

results: Taxi drivers have an increased risk of hypertension compared with the control group (odds ratio: crude=5.94, adjusted=9.09; P<0001). Cigarette smoking in taxi and bus drivers was 1.4 (P<0.3) and 3.24 (P<0001) times as high as the control group, respectively. The risk of increased LDL and decreased HDL in bus drivers was 4.38 and 5.28 (P<0001) times as high as the control group, respectively. The risk of obesity, high blood sugar and high triglyceride was not significantly different between the groups.

CONCLUSIONS: Driving is an independent risk factor for hypertension. Known CAD risk factors are also more frequent in drivers.

Keywords: Driving, cardiovascular disease, risk factor.