Prevalence and Determinants of Hypertension among Iranian Taxi Drivers

Background: The prevalence of HTN among Iranian taxi drivers has not been defined. In addition, few studies investigated determinants of the prevalence of HTN among taxi drivers. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of HTN and identify the factors influencing its prevalence among Iranian taxi drivers.Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study carried out on the total sample of 321 taxi drivers in Kermanshah province during 2018. A self-administrated questionnaire, including questions related to demographic, medical history, and work-related factors of the drivers was used to collect data. We applied the American Heart Association (AHA) definition of hypertension (SBP≥140 or DBP≥90) to identify the HTN subjects. The logistic regression models were applied to estimate the risk of HTN based on collecting variables.Results: We observed 59.8% of the participants (192/321) suffered from HTN. According to the adjusted logistic regression model, there were significant stronger risks of HTN per one unit increase in Age, work history, work days per week (DPW), and sleep duration at levels of (P> 0.05) and also in work hours per day (HPD) at levels of (P> 0.01) based on categorical analysis, The variables of age ≥ 45, work history ≥ 5, HPD ,0. > DPW ≤ 6, Married, and weak economic status were the risk factors which significantly associated with HTN (P> 0.05)Conclusions: Our studies indicated taxi drivers as a high risk group for HTN. Therefore, it is needed these drivers get education about HTN risk factors and also undergo medical treatment and regular checkups.

Keywords:

Taxi drivers , Hypertension , Cardiovascular risk factors , Iran