title: Relationships between sleep-disordered breathing and blood pressure and excessive daytime sleepiness among truck drivers.
abstract: Sleep-disordered breathing is a risk factor for hypertension, cardiovascular disease and accidents in the general population, but little is known about this correlation among professional truck drivers. To examine the relationships of sleep-disordered breathing with blood pressure levels and excessive daytime sleepiness among truck drivers, we conducted a population-based cross-sectional study of 1,313 subjects aged 20-69 years registered in the Japanese Trucking Association. The 3% oxygen desaturation index was selected as an indicator of sleep-disordered breathing, representing the number of desaturation events per hour of recording time in which blood oxygen fell by > or = 3% by overnight pulse oximetry. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale was used to estimate excessive daytime sleepiness. There were significant positive associations between the 3% oxygen desaturation index levels and both diastolic blood pressure levels and Epworth Sleepiness Scale scores. The multivariate odds ratio of hypertension was 2.0 (1.1-3.6) for a 3% oxygen desaturation index of > or = 15 in reference with a 3% oxygen desaturation index of <5. This association was more evident among those aged > or = 40 years and overweight subjects. Further, the multivariate odds ratio of an Epworth Sleepiness Scale of > or = 11 was 2.3 (1.1-4.9) for a 3% oxygen desaturation index of > or =15 in reference with a 3% oxygen desaturation index of <5. This association was more evident among those aged > or =40 years. The associations of sleep-disordered breathing severity with diastolic blood pressure levels and excessive daytime sleepiness suggest the need for sleep-disordered breathing screening among truck drivers for prevention of hypertension and potential traffic accidents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Medicine, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, and Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan.
authors.forename: Renzhe
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanigawa
authors.forename: Susumu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sakurai
authors.forename: Kazumasa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamagishi
authors.forename: Hiroyasu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iso
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology*; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018986:Motor Vehicles; D009790:Occupations; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000453:epidemiology*