title: Work, sleep, and cholesterol levels of U.S. long-haul truck drivers.
abstract: Long-haul truck drivers in the United States experience elevated cardiovascular health risks, possibly due to hypercholesterolemia. The current study has two objectives: 1) to generate a cholesterol profile for U.S. long-haul truck drivers; and 2) to determine the influence of work organization characteristics and sleep quality and duration on cholesterol levels of long-haul truck drivers. Survey and biometric data were collected from 262 long-haul truck drivers. Descriptive analyses were performed for demographic, work organization, sleep, and cholesterol measures. Linear regression and ordinal logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine for possible predictive relationships between demographic, work organization, and sleep variables, and cholesterol outcomes. The majority (66.4%) of drivers had a low HDL (<40 mg/dL), and nearly 42% of drivers had a high-risk total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol ratio. Sleep quality was associated with HDL, LDL, and total cholesterol, and daily work hours were associated with LDL cholesterol. Workday sleep duration was associated with non-HDL cholesterol, and driving experience and sleep quality were associated with cholesterol ratio. Long-haul truck drivers have a high risk cholesterol profile, and sleep quality and work organization factors may induce these cholesterol outcomes. Targeted worksite health promotion programs are needed to curb these atherosclerotic risks.
authors.affiliation: Texas A&M University Complexity & Computational Population Health Group, USA.
authors.forename: Michael K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Lemke
authors.forename: Yorghos
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Apostolopoulos
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hege
authors.forename: Laurie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wideman
authors.forename: Sevil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sönmez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016272:Occupational Health; D012307:Risk Factors; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014186:Transportation; D014481:United States; D014937:Work
chemical_list: D002784:Cholesterol