PREVALENCE AND LIFESTYLE ASSOCIATED RISK FACTORS OF HYPERTENSION AND DIABETES AMONG COMMERCIAL PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS: A CROSSECTIONAL STUDY FROM CENTRAL INDIA.

The commercial professional drivers are at risk of developing hypertension, diabetes, and obesity as they are exposed to many risk factors due to the nature of their work. The study highlighted various risk factors in order to better clarify the burden of this health issue in the Sagar district of Central India. A cross-sectional analytical study was carried out on a cohort of 496 drivers in a city located in Central India. We measured participants' blood pressure, blood glucose, height, and body weight. The lifestyle-related risk factors along with dietary patterns were assessed using a pretested questionnaire. For the purpose of statistical analysis, both the Student's t-test and the Chi-square test were employed. A significance level of P < 0.05 was adopted as the threshold for determining statistical significance. Out of 496, 226 (45.5%) were hypertensive and 150 (30.2%) were diabetic. The patients who were found to be hypertensive were more than 30 years of age, mostly belonging to rural areas with a high school degree. Most of them were smokers with more than 10 cigarettes per day along with occasional alcohol intake and daily tobacco chewing habit. The sleep quality and physical activity was found to be inadequate. The diabetic patients were mostly greater than 30 years of age belonging to rural areas with intense smoking and tobacco chewing habit. The sleep habit and physical activity was found to be inadequate. The patients in the BMI range of ≥30 were found to be more hypertensive and diabetic. In light of current findings, there is a clear need for focused interventions to promote healthier lifestyles among drivers. This is essential to reduce the prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, and overweight conditions within this group. Such interventions have the dual benefit of improving drivers' well-being and as well as enhancing passenger safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]