Coronary Artery Disease Evaluation and Management Considerations for High Risk Occupations: Commercial Vehicle Drivers and Pilots

Optimal treatment of stable ischemic heart disease for those in the transportation industry is considered in the context of the individual’s health, as well as with the perspective that sudden impairment could have catastrophic consequences for others. This article focuses on two high risk occupations that one may encounter in practice: commercial motor vehicle drivers and commercial pilots. This article discusses coronary heart disease in patients in high risk occupations and covers current guideline recommendations for screening, treatment, and secondary prevention. The importance of the complimentary perspectives of the regulatory agency, medical examiners, physicians, and pilot or driver are considered in this narrative review, as are considerations for future guideline updates.

Attitudes towards Safety Regulation and Job Satisfaction in Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers

This paper presents a study about the relationship between attitudes toward safety regulations and job satisfaction among commercial motor vehicle operators in Chile. 318 truck drivers were recruited during 2012. Results show that the principal predictor of attitudes toward safety regulations is job satisfaction, after time driving in this occupation. These findings suggest that trust in work safety is relevant for a risky profession, as the studied.

Prevalence and clusters of modifiable cardiovascular disease risk factors among intra- city commercial motor vehicle drivers in a Nigerian metropolitan city

Background: Commercial motor vehicle drivers (CMVDs) have worst health profiles among different occupations, yet the presence of clusters of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in this group have not been described in a resource-limited setting.Objectives: The prevalence of CVD risk factors and the clusters among CMVDs was evaluated.Design: A cross-sectional descriptive study.Setting: Four motor parks in three local government areas of Ibadan city, Nigeria.Participants: Consented and conveniently sampled 152 intra-city CMVDs aged ≥ 18 years. Main outcome measures: Prevalence of CVD risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, high triglyceride, low HDLc, high waist-hip ratio, central obesity, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol, and overweight/obesity) and their clusters were determined.Results: All participants were male from 20 – 77 years old. Most of the CMVDs were physically inactive (80, 52.6%), take alcohol (78, 51.3%), and few smokes (35, 12.4%). The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, hypertriglyceridemia,obesity, and central obesity were 36.2%, 5.9%, 23.7%, 4.6%, and 5.3%, respectively. Four clusters of CVD risk factors in the CMVDs with the prevalence of 36.2%. 33.5%, 17.1% and 13.2% were identified with significant differences (p<0.05) in the risk factors.Conclusion: The prevalence of diabetes, obesity, central obesity, and smoking was low while the prevalence of hypertension and hypertriglyceridemia was moderate among the CMVDs, but the prevalence of alcohol intake and physical inactivity were high. Four distinct clusters of CVD risk factors were observed among the drivers.Keywords: Cardiovascular diseases, Risk factors, Motor vehicles, Commercial vehicle drivers, Nigeria.Funding: The study was self-funded.

Relationship between Road Traffic Accidents and Visual Status of Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers in an Urban Area of Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

Aim: To determine the relationship between visual status of commercial motor vehicle drivers and road traffic accidents (RTA) in an urban area of Niger Delta, Nigeria. Methods: Four hundred commercial vehicle drivers in the 10 major motor parks of Port Harcourt LGA were interviewed and examined in this study. A structured questionnaire on demographic characteristics, driving and ocular history was administered. Ocular examination included visual acuity, refraction, visual field, tonometry, colour vision test and ophthalmoscopy. The data collected was entered into computer using EPI-INFO statistical software for analysis. Ethical approval was obtained from relevant authorities. Results: Seven drivers (1.8%) out of 400 drivers examined were visually impaired. There were 14 cases (3.5%) of monocular blindness. Eighteen (4.5%) were colour blind (p>0.05) while 16 (4%) had visual field defects (p>0.05). One hundred and eighty two (45.5%) drivers had been involved in RTA, out of which 2 drivers (1.1%) were visually impaired (p>0.05). Cataract found in 37 cases was the leading cause of visual impairment (42.8%). Other common ocular problems were pterygium (26.7%), presbyopia (22.9%), glaucoma (11.5%), and refractive error (8.4%).There was no statistical significant association between the ocular findings and RTA Conclusion: Only a few of those involved in RTA were actually visually impaired. Therefore, other factors may have been responsible for the majority of the cases of the RTAs in this study necessitating the need for more research.