Locomotor Diseases Among Male Long-haul Truck Drivers and Other Professional Drivers

Overview

Journal Int Arch Occup Environ Health

Specialty Environmental Health

Date 2007 Oct 10

PMID 17924129

Citations 7

Authors

Anker Jensen

Linda Kaerlev

Finn Tuchsen

Harald Hannerz

Soren Dahl

Per Sabro Nielsen

Jorn Olsen

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: High risks for locomotor diseases have been reported for bus and truck drivers in general; however, little is known about the specific risks of long-haul truck drivers.

Methods: Standardised hospitalisation ratios (SHR) for different locomotor diseases of bus drivers, long-haul truck drivers and other truck drivers were compared with each other and with the general Danish working population.

Results: Intervertebral disc disorders were more common among professional drivers (SHR: 119, 95% CI: 114-125) and of similar magnitude for cervical and non-cervical disorders. Both long-haul truck drivers and bus drivers had higher SHR for intervertebral disc disorders (SHR: 133, 95% CI: 114-155/SHR: 141, 95% CI: 129-154, respectively) than other truck drivers (SHR: 109, 95% CI: 102-116). The SHR for carpal tunnel syndrome was high among long-haul drivers (SHR: 163, 95% CI: 101-249) and for other truck drivers (SHR: 130, 95% CI: 108-156) compared to bus drivers (SHR: 110, 95% CI: 79-149). All drivers had high SHR for lesions of the ulnar nerve (SHR: 159, 95% CI: 119-207), especially bus drivers (SHR: 197, 95% CI: 116-311). Long-haul truck drivers had high SHRs for synovitis and bursitis (SHR: 150, 95% CI: 105-207), in contrast to other truck drivers and bus drivers (SHR: 103, 95% CI: 89-120/SHR: 87, 95% CI: 66-112, respectively).

Conclusion: All groups of professional drivers experience high risk of various disorders of the locomotor system but type of vehicle and specific working conditions are associated with different health effects on the locomotor system.

Citing Articles

Cubital tunnel syndrome: anatomy, pathology, and imaging.

Hussein M, Hanumanthu M, Shirodkar K, Papineni V, Rahij H, Velicheti S Skeletal Radiol. 2024; 54(1):1-15.

PMID: 38760642 DOI: 10.1007/s00256-024-04705-4.

Socioeconomic Differences between Sexes in Surgically Treated Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Ulnar Nerve Entrapment.

Zimmerman M, Anker I, Nyman E Epidemiologia (Basel). 2022; 3(3):353-362.

PMID: 36417243 PMC: 9620911. DOI: 10.3390/epidemiologia3030027.

Musculoskeletal Disorders Associated with Occupational Driving: A Systematic Review Spanning 2006-2021.

Pickard O, Burton P, Yamada H, Schram B, Canetti E, Orr R Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022; 19(11).

PMID: 35682420 PMC: 9180502. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19116837.

Correlation between motor behavior and age-related intervertebral disc degeneration in cynomolgus monkeys.

Wang J, Zhu P, Pan X, Yang J, Wang S, Wang W JOR Spine. 2022; 5(1):e1183.

PMID: 35386757 PMC: 8966873. DOI: 10.1002/jsp2.1183.

Prospective, population-based study of occupational movements and postures of the neck as risk factors for cervical disc herniation.

Petersen J, Brauer C, Thygesen L, Flachs E, Lund C, Frolund Thomsen J BMJ Open. 2022; 12(2):e053999.

PMID: 35228284 PMC: 8886406. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-053999.

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