Abstract
Abstract Background The typical lifestyle of a commercial motor vehicle truck driver may include irregular work and sleep hours, physical inactivity, poor eating habits and nutrition, and mental and physical stress; thereby, making this professional group susceptible to health disparities, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic disorders. Identification of metabolic syndrome, a clustering of cardio-metabolic risk factors, in commercial truck drivers may aid in early recognition of risk for chronic diseases. Objective: To examine the prevalence of components of the metabolic syndrome in commercial motor vehicle truck drivers and identify the most prevalent metabolic syndrome components to prioritize initiatives for health interventions for commercial drivers. Methods A review of the literature was conducted that evaluated one or more metabolic syndrome components in commercial truck drivers. Articles were collected from a Pub Med Medline search that was limited to research conducted on commercial motor vehicle truck drivers, English-written articles, and those published between 2001–2015. Twenty-five articles met the criteria for inclusion (relevance, sufficient reporting of data, etc.) in this systematic review. Results All studies were original reports with sample sizes ranging from 30–5,320 subjects, all of which were commercial motor vehicle truck drivers. The mean driver age range in the studies reviewed (for those that included a mean age) was 38 to 48 years of age. Seventeen of the studies were cross-sectional investigations and the remainder included longitudinal ( n =2), cohort ( n =3), naturalistic ( n =1), descriptive ( n =1), and case-control ( n =1) studies. Seventeen studies reported participant self-report values for measurements of interest. Abdominal obesity affects up to 70% of commercial motor vehicle truck drivers; overweight and obesity, 35–46% and 15–70% of drivers, respectively; hypertension, 5–41% of commercial truck drivers; dyslipidemia may affect 17–22% of drivers; and diabetes, up to 16% of commercial truck drivers. Conclusions From this review, obesity was identified as the most prevalent metabolic syndrome component and risk factor for cardio-metabolic disease in this high-risk group of professional commercial motor vehicle truck drivers. Additional, objective research is necessary to more accurately assess the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components among commercial truck drivers. Future health intervention studies for this population should focus on obesity prevention, management and treatment. Health promotion programs targeting commercial motor vehicle truck drivers should consider the unique work environment drivers experience and the lifestyle they lead in order to develop a successful and self-sustaining health and wellness program.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have