Excessive sleepiness prevalence in public transportation drivers of a developing country.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of excessive sleepiness (ES) in bus and auto-rickshaw drivers from Lima, Peru.


METHODS
We conducted a cross-sectional study of Lima's bus and auto-rickshaw drivers to estimate ES prevalence in this population. Survey sites were private transportation companies, systematically selected with a snowball approach. ES was assessed with the Spanish-validated version of the Epworth sleep questionnaire (ESQ) with a cutoff score >10. We obtained relevant demographic information.


RESULTS
Four hundred and thirty-four bus and auto-rickshaw drivers were eligible for analysis. The overall ES prevalence was 32.7 percent (95% confidence interval [CI]: 28-37.2). ES prevalence was higher in bus drivers than in auto-rickshaw drivers, 38 percent (95% CI: 31.7-44.2) and 26.9 percent (95% CI: 20.6-33.1), respectively (P = .01). We used data from all subjects to obtain regression equations for ESQ score with several predictors. Being a bus driver, working additional nighttime hours per week, having depression or anxiety, and alcohol abuse had small but significant associations with ESQ scores.


CONCLUSIONS
ES prevalence in Lima's public transportation drivers is in a medium range as suggested by previous regional studies.
Hypnos Instituto del Sueño, Lima, Perú. jorgeriscorocca@gmail.com
Jorge
J
Risco
Paulo
P
Ruiz
Alejandro
A
Mariños
Alan
A
Juarez
Mariana
M
Ramos
Frine
F
Salmavides
Johann
J
Vega
Hever
H
Kruger
Darwin
D
Vizcarra
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003906:Developing Countries; D006970:Disorders of Excessive Somnolence / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018986:Motor Vehicles / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009790:Occupations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010568:Peru / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult