Impact of driving on blood pressure: Example of drivers of a large company of hydraulic works

Abstract

The aim of our study was to: – etablish the prevalence of High blood pressure in a group of professional drivers from a large company of hydraulic works; – determine the epidemiological profile of hypertensives. A descriptive study was carried out during 06 months (2016), The study population included 128 male drivers working for more than 5 years. All subjects answered medical questionnaire and responded a clinical examination (cardiovascular examination, taking blood pressure, MAPA) and additional tests (capillary blood glucose, lipids and kidney checkup. The work situations were analyzed according to a professional grid. We opted for the XL STAT 2016 software. Results The prevalence of HTA among drivers 8%. Mean age of hypertensive workers was 49 ± 5.4 with a predominance of the truck driver category (44%). Prevalence of Hypertension increased with longer duration of employment as driver. Obesity and sedentary lifestyle are the most important cardiovascular risk factors 40% of hypertensives are obese with a body mass index greater than 30. Hypertension is associated to diabetes in 80% of hypertensive drivers. Occupational risk factors were stress, atypical working hours, noise and workload. HTA prevalence among drivers is higher than the national health survey and its association with risk factors, necessary education programme to raise the awareness has to be conducted.