Smoking and obesity among long-haul truck drivers in France

Loic Josseran, Killian McNeill, Thierry Fardini, Rebecca Sauvagnac, Frederic Barbot, Maria Antonia Quera Salva, Myles Bowser, Gary King

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

INTRODUCTION This study examines the health status of long-haul truck drivers (LHTDs) and more specifically smoking and obesity, in France. METHODS A total of 373 French and other LHTDs were randomly interviewed at six highway rest stops. Variables recorded were self-reported sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender, marital status, and nationality), behavioral variables(consumption of sodas, daily exercise, smoking status), weight and height. Body mass index (BMI) was also calculated. Statistical analysis was conducted using chi-squared analysis and multiple logistic ordinal regression models (MLR) were developed.RESULTS The mean age was 43.4 and the largest proportion (41.2%) of respondents were aged 40–50 years. Most respondents were French (70.3%), married (73.8%) and did not report having an active exercise routine (66.0%). Almost two-thirds of the drivers consumed daily 1–2 sodas (34.2%) or 3–4 sodas (33.2%). Based on the BMI, respondents were divided into normal (34.3%), overweight (39.8%), obese (19.5%) or morbidly obese (9.4%) categories. The mean BMI was 27.9 kg/ m2 and 51.1% of LHTDs were current or active smokers. MLR analysis revealed that French LHTDs were more likely (OR=3.04; 95% CI: 1.62–5.69) to have a normal BMI compared to other drivers. Smokers were significantly more likely than non-smokers (OR=2.12; 95% CI: 1.26–3.58) to have an above normal BMI. CONCLUSIONS These results confirm that French and other LHTDs are at high risk of non-communicable diseases.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1-9
Number of pages9
JournalTobacco Prevention and Cessation
Volume7
DOIs
StatePublished - 2021

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Epidemiology
  • Health(social science)
  • Health Professions (miscellaneous)

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