Obesity, hypertension and diabetes among truck drivers in the middle-west, Brazil

Abstract

A high prevalence of overweight and obesity has been observed among professional drivers. An increased risk of hypertension and obesity may be related to the stress of driving long hours. This work aimed to evaluate the glucose level, blood pressure and body mass index (BMI) in truck drivers. Long distance truck drivers were recruited at a gas station in Goias State, Brasil, between April 2014 and June 2014. A cross-sectional questionnaire was applied. Random glucose test, blood pressure and body weight were evaluated and body mass index was calculated. Statistic analyses were performed by the software EPI INFO 7.0. The level of significance was set at 5% (p≤0.05). A total of 155 male long distance truck drivers was included in the study, 78.1% (121/155) said to be sedentary, 30.3% (47/155) were current smokers, 51% (79/155) were using alcoholic beverages with frequency and 58.3% (91/155) did not have a healthy eating. Almost 40% (61/155) were hypertensive (>13 x >8 MmHg), hyperglycemia (>200 mg/dL) was detected in 11.0% (17/155) and 80% (123/155) were obese (BMI < 25 kg/m2). Approximately 90% of hypertensive truck drivers had high BMI (p<0,05) and 81% with high BMI were sedentary (p<0,05). It is concluded that, the majority of truck drivers in this study had sedentary lifestyle associated with high prevalence of overweight and obesity. High BMI was directly associated with hypertension.