Abstract
Alcohol consumption is one of the main causes of productivity losses arising from absenteeism, presenteeism, and workplace injuries. Among occupational categories most affected by the use of this substance, truck drivers are subject to risk factors and risky behaviors that can have a serious impact on their health, their work, and the general road safety. The use of alcohol during truck-driving activities is, indeed, an important risk factor for traffic accidents. The present systematic review and meta-analysis aims at synthesizing the literature regarding harmful alcohol consumption patterns among truck drivers in a rigorous way. A ‘binge drinking’ prevalence of 19.0%, 95% confidence interval or CI (13.1, 26.9) was present. An ‘everyday drinking’ pattern rate of 9.4%, 95% CI (7.0, 12.4) was found, while the rate of alcohol misuse according to the “Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test” (AUDIT)—“Cut down-Annoyed-Guilty-Eye opener questionnaire” (CAGE) instruments was computed to be of 22.7%, 95% CI (14.8, 33.0). No evidence of publication bias could be found. However, there is the need to improve the quality of published research, utilizing standardized reliable instruments. The knowledge of these epidemiological data can be useful for decision makers in order to develop, design, and implement ad hoc adequate policies.
Highlights
Seventeen studies have been included in the present systematic review and meta-analysis [8,12,26, 27,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67]
Seven articles reported an unspecified alcohol consumption pattern, whereas two studies reported a generic consumption in the last year, meaning that the truck driver had consumed any alcoholic drink during the last year
One study reported alcohol consumption in terms of one per day, another study in terms of grams per kilogram, whilst one study counted the number of drinks per week
Summary
Alcohol consumption is one of the main causes of productivity losses arising from absenteeism, presenteeism, and workplace injuries. Among occupational categories most affected by the use of this substance, truck drivers are subject to risk factors and risky behaviors that can have a serious impact on their health, their work, and the general road safety. There is the need to improve the quality of published research, utilizing standardized reliable instruments. The knowledge of these epidemiological data can be useful for decision makers in order to develop, design, and implement ad hoc adequate policies. Alcohol consumption is among the main causes of absenteeism, presenteeism, and workplace injuries [1,2,3].
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