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Hematocrit levels as cardiovascular risk among taxi drivers in Bangkok, Thailand
In Thailand, taxi drivers employed in the informal sector often experience hazardous working conditions. Previous studies revealed that elevated Hematocrit (HCT) is a predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. This study assessed factors associated with HCT in taxi drivers to predict their occu...
Autores principales: | , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Japan
2016
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5054284/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27151439 http://dx.doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2015-0248 |
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author | ISHIMARU, Tomohiro ARPHORN, Sara JIRAPONGSUWAN, Ann |
author_facet | ISHIMARU, Tomohiro ARPHORN, Sara JIRAPONGSUWAN, Ann |
author_sort | ISHIMARU, Tomohiro |
collection | PubMed |
description | In Thailand, taxi drivers employed in the informal sector often experience hazardous working conditions. Previous studies revealed that elevated Hematocrit (HCT) is a predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. This study assessed factors associated with HCT in taxi drivers to predict their occupational CVD risk factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 298 male taxi drivers who joined a health check-up campaign in Bangkok, Thailand. HCT and body mass index were retrieved from participant health check-up files. Self-administered questionnaires assessed demographics, driving mileage, working hours, and lifestyle. Statistical associations were analyzed using stepwise linear regression. Our results showed that obesity (p=0.007), daily alcohol drinking (p=0.003), and current or past smoking (p=0.016) were associated with higher HCT levels. While working hours were not directly associated with HCT levels in the current study, the effect on overworking is statistically arguable because most participants worked substantially longer hours. Our findings suggest that taxi drivers’ CVD risk may be increased by their unhealthy work styles. Initiatives to improve general working conditions for taxi drivers should take into account health promotion and CVD prevention. The policy of providing periodic health check-ups is important to make workers in the informal sector aware of their health status. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-5054284 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2016 |
publisher | National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Japan |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-50542842016-10-12 Hematocrit levels as cardiovascular risk among taxi drivers in Bangkok, Thailand ISHIMARU, Tomohiro ARPHORN, Sara JIRAPONGSUWAN, Ann Ind Health Original Article In Thailand, taxi drivers employed in the informal sector often experience hazardous working conditions. Previous studies revealed that elevated Hematocrit (HCT) is a predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. This study assessed factors associated with HCT in taxi drivers to predict their occupational CVD risk factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 298 male taxi drivers who joined a health check-up campaign in Bangkok, Thailand. HCT and body mass index were retrieved from participant health check-up files. Self-administered questionnaires assessed demographics, driving mileage, working hours, and lifestyle. Statistical associations were analyzed using stepwise linear regression. Our results showed that obesity (p=0.007), daily alcohol drinking (p=0.003), and current or past smoking (p=0.016) were associated with higher HCT levels. While working hours were not directly associated with HCT levels in the current study, the effect on overworking is statistically arguable because most participants worked substantially longer hours. Our findings suggest that taxi drivers’ CVD risk may be increased by their unhealthy work styles. Initiatives to improve general working conditions for taxi drivers should take into account health promotion and CVD prevention. The policy of providing periodic health check-ups is important to make workers in the informal sector aware of their health status. National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Japan 2016-04-29 2016-09 /pmc/articles/PMC5054284/ /pubmed/27151439 http://dx.doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2015-0248 Text en ©2016 National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd) License. |
spellingShingle | Original Article ISHIMARU, Tomohiro ARPHORN, Sara JIRAPONGSUWAN, Ann Hematocrit levels as cardiovascular risk among taxi drivers in Bangkok, Thailand |
title | Hematocrit levels as cardiovascular risk among taxi drivers in Bangkok, Thailand |
title_full | Hematocrit levels as cardiovascular risk among taxi drivers in Bangkok, Thailand |
title_fullStr | Hematocrit levels as cardiovascular risk among taxi drivers in Bangkok, Thailand |
title_full_unstemmed | Hematocrit levels as cardiovascular risk among taxi drivers in Bangkok, Thailand |
title_short | Hematocrit levels as cardiovascular risk among taxi drivers in Bangkok, Thailand |
title_sort | hematocrit levels as cardiovascular risk among taxi drivers in bangkok, thailand |
topic | Original Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5054284/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27151439 http://dx.doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2015-0248 |
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