US long-haul truck driver work organization and the association with cardiometabolic disease risk

ABSTRACT

Work organization, including long working hours, irregular work schedules, and job stress, has been associated with increased cardiometabolic disease (CMD) risk for numerous working populations. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between work hours, work schedules, job stress, and CMD risk for a sample of US long-haul truck drivers (LHTDs). A nonexperimental, descriptive, cross-sectional design was employed to collect survey and anthropometric data from 260 US LHTDs at a major truck stop. The mean BMI was 33.40 kg/m² and mean waist circumference was 114.77 cm. Using logistic regression, researchers found longer work hours, especially greater than 11 hours daily, were associated with increased odds for an extremely high risk of CMD. Results support comprehensive and integrated approaches that address work organization, and in particular long working hours, to reduce drivers' CMD risk.

KEYWORDS:

• Cardiometabolic disease (CMD)
• LHTD
• obesity
• work organization

Acknowledgments

We thank Mr. Tom Liutkus, Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations for Travel Centers of America (TA), and Mr. Jerald Brisson, General Manager of the Whitsett, NC TA truck stop, and his staff for their instrumental support for our project and data collection efforts. We also thank the long-haul truck drivers who participated in this study and extend our thanks to our graduate students Kiki Hatzudis (Public Health Education) and Doug Oberlin (Kinesiology) for their invaluable assistance in various phases of data collection.

Funding

This article is part of a commercial driver sleep study conducted with research funds awarded to Yorghos Apostolopoulos by the University of North Carolina-Greensboro's (UNCG) Office of Research and Economic Development. Additional funds were provided by UNCG's School of Health and Human Sciences, Bryan School of Business and Economics, Department of Public Health Education, and Department of Kinesiology. The authors report no conflicts of interest.