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Lifestyle risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetic risk in a sedentary occupational group: the Galway taxi driver study

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Abstract

Background

Taxi drivers are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), something which persists after correcting for the overrepresentation of traditional risk factors for CVD in this cohort. The contribution of lifestyle risk factors to this residually elevated CVD risk remains under-evaluated.

Aims

We aimed to determine the prevalence of lifestyle risk factors for CVD, self-reported medical risk factors for CVD, and future risk of type 2 diabetes amongst Irish taxi drivers.

Methods

Male taxi drivers with no history of CVD and type 2 diabetes and working in Galway city in the west of Ireland were invited to participate. Physical activity levels, dietary patterns, anthropometry, smoking, hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, and Finnish Diabetes Risk Score (FINDRISC) values were recorded in a cross-sectional manner.

Results

41 taxi drivers (mean age 56.7 ± 9.8 years) participated. 37 % were insufficiently active based on self-report, although only 8 % objectively achieved 10, 000 steps per day. Mean modified Mediterranean diet score (mMDS) was 4.6 ± 2.2, and only 13 % of participants had a normal body mass index (BMI) or waist circumference (WC). Those who worked for taxi companies tended to have a higher BMI (p = .07) and WC (p = .04) by multivariable regression. 22 % were current smokers, although a quit rate of 72 % was observed amongst the 78 % of taxi drivers who had ever smoked. 25 % were at high or very high risk of future type 2 diabetes.

Conclusion

Lifestyle risk factors for CVD and dysglycaemia are prevalent amongst Irish taxi drivers.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Ms. Gloria Avalos for her assistance with the statistical analysis. Dr. William Patrick Martin was supported by a research bursary from the Galway Cardiovascular Research fund to facilitate the purchase of pedometers. This funding body had no influence on the study design, the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, or the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland

    W. P. Martin, F. Sharif & G. Flaherty

  2. National Institute for Preventive Cardiology, Galway, Ireland

    W. P. Martin & G. Flaherty

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  1. W. P. Martin
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  2. F. Sharif
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  3. G. Flaherty
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Correspondence to W. P. Martin.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Martin, W.P., Sharif, F. & Flaherty, G. Lifestyle risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetic risk in a sedentary occupational group: the Galway taxi driver study. Ir J Med Sci 185, 403–412 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-016-1442-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-016-1442-6

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