General Characteristics and Risk Factors of Cardiovascular Disease among Interstate Bus Drivers

• Published in: TheScientificWorld 2012-01, Vol.2012 (2012), p.1-7
• Main Authors: Oliveira, Luis Vicente Franco de, Hirata, Raquel Pastréllo, Insalaco, Giuseppe, Romano, Salvatore, Balbi, Bruno, Sampaio, Luciana Maria Malosa, Leitão Filho, Fernando Sergio Studart, Braghiroli, Alberto
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Absenteeism; Adult; Age Distribution; Anthropometry; Audiometry; Automobile Driving - statistics & numerical data; Blood pressure; Body Size; Body weight gain; Brazil - epidemiology; Buses; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases - epidemiology; Cholesterol; Clinical Study; Comorbidity; Demographic variables; Demographics; Diet; Epidemiology; Fasting; GDP; Glucose; Gross Domestic Product; Health risks; Hearing loss; High density lipoprotein; Humans; Hyperglycemia; Hyperlipidemia; Hyperlipidemias - epidemiology; Hypertension; Hypertension - epidemiology; Laboratories; Male; Medicine; Motor Vehicles - statistics & numerical data; Neck; Obesity; Obesity - epidemiology; Otolaryngology; Population; Prevalence; Risk analysis; Risk Factors; Sedentary behavior; Shift work; Sitting position; Sleep; Statistical analysis; Studies; Traffic accidents & safety; Transportation industry; Variance analysis; Workers
• ISSN: 2356-6140; 1537-744X; 1537-744X
• DOI: 10.1100/2012/216702

Workers in the transportation industry are at greater risk of an incorrect diet and sedentary behavior. The aim of our study was to characterize a population of professional bus drivers with regard to clinical and demographic variables, lipid profile, and the presence of cardiovascular risk factors. Data from 659 interstate bus drivers collected retrospectively, including anthropometric characteristics, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, lipid profile, fasting blood glucose, meatoscopy, and audiometry. All participants were male, with a mean age of 41.7±6.9 years, weight of 81.4±3.3 kg, and BMI 27.2±3.3 Kg/m2; the mean abdominal and neck circumferences were 94.4±8.6 cm and 38.9±2.2  cm; 38.2% of the sample was considered hypertensive; mean HDL cholesterol was 47.9±9.5 mg/dL, mean triglyceride level was 146.3±87.9 mg/dL, and fasting glucose was above 100 mg/dL in 249 subjects (39.1%). Drivers exhibited reduced audiometric hearing at 4–8 kHz, being all sensorineural hearing loss. The clinical characterization of a young male population of interstate bus drivers revealed a high frequency of cardiovascular risk factors, as obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and hyperglycemia, as well as contributing functional characteristics, such as a low-intensity activity, sedentary behavior, long duration in a sitting position, and high-calorie diet, which lead to excessive weight gain and associated comorbidities.