Search

The study using multifactor personality questionnaire (shorter variant of MMPI) covered 619 drivers aged 20 to 59. Professional success was assessed according to occupationally important psychophysiologic parameters (OIPP) and number of committed traffic accidents (TA) in 4 groups of the drivers. Individual psychologic traits appeared to correlate with reliability criteria (OIPP and TA). Approaches evaluating the drivers' reliability should therefore consider personal features for better differentiated correction of psychophysiologic parameters. Advances in programs of traffic safety is strongly associated with complex approaches of prophylaxis that should consider significance of psychologic factor.

Conducting a program on prophylaxis of arterial hypertension among automobile transport workers, the researchers revealed higher blood pressure among 22.6% of the examines. Prophylactic measures during 5 years induced decrease in prevalence of arterial hypertension from 23.6% to 13.7% among the exposed group members, whereas the reference group members demonstrated increase of the parameter from 21.5% to 34.3%. Prophylaxis of arterial hypertension among drivers should be based on non-pharmacologic methods, if inevitable, the drug therapy should be selected under control of psychophysiologic tests.

Epidemiologic, electrophysiologic and psychophysiologic studies among urban and rural automobile drivers helped to reveal occurrence of coronary artery disease (CAD), arterial hypertension (AH) and their risk factors. In addition, special studies (monitoring of ECG in natural conditions) among 118 drivers diagnosed the signs of coronary failure and arrhythmias. Psychophysiologic studies among the individuals suffering from cardiovascular diseases (CAD, AH and arrhythmias) proved worse parameters important for occupational activities and for traffic safety.

An epidemiological examination of 4323 motor transport workers made according to the program of the All-Union Cardiology Research Center, USSR AMS, revealed high arterial pressure (AP) in 22.6% of cases. The knowledge of hypertension was found to be low (34%) as was the coverage with hypotensive treatment (7.1%) and the efficacy of the latter one (1.8%). The follow-up studies (for 5 years) demonstrated the efficacy of non-medicamentous and medicamentous AP control exercised in motor transport workers. It was proved that in the principle AP might adequately be decreased and maintained for a long time at the safe level in the overwhelming majority of subjects with AP.

Cross-sectional studies covered 2562 males (a urban population), 580 miners, 1126 agricultural drivers, 682 rural habitants and 4323 urban drivers. The mean blood pressures were basically identical in males of various occupations and age, except for urban and rural drivers aged 20-29 and 40-49 years who had significantly lower mean systolic blood pressures than those from the other groups under study. All the males showed elevation in systolic and diastolic blood pressures with age; the differences in blood pressures were insignificant only in rural drivers aged 30-39 and 40-49 years and miners aged 40-49 and 50-59 years. The incidence of arterial hypertension increased with age: from 3.2 to 7.7% in 20-29-year-old males to 34.2-37.2% in 50-59-year olds. Low (less that 50%) awareness of hypertension was identified in hypertensives. A prospective 5-year follow-up and implementation of prophylactic measures at the urban motor enterprises positively affected the incidence of hypertension and the level of hypertension awareness, and morbidity rates.

The difficulties in hypotensive treatment of arterial hypertension (AH) in drivers encouraged the search for effective methods of correction of elevated arterial pressure (AP). During 5 years a group of 631 drivers with different levels of elevated AP was examined. For their treatment a complex of non-pharmacological methods was proposed, i.e., exercise therapy, preshift gymnastics, psychoemotional relief, autotraining, punctate massage, electric sleep, balneotherapy, decoction of sedative and plant diuretics. The dynamics of mean indices of diastolic pressure and high efficiency of using non-pharmacological methods for treating AH in drivers were demonstrated. The absence of adverse and undesirable effects of non-pharmacological AH-control methods enabled one to regard them as an effective means of treatment of the drivers with the initial AH stages.