OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to verify the prevalence and to study associations between hypertension and bus drivers' professional activity. METHODS: A cross sectional study was conduced in the town of Santa Maria, involving 214 urban bus drivers and the same number of their neighbors, selected by sex and age. A standardized questionnaire was applied to each individual and their arterial tension, weight and height were measured at their home. RESULTS: The hypertension prevalence among bus drivers was 22.4%. A significant difference was not observed with the control group, even after confounders were controlled. However, among drivers, obesity (RP 2.30 IC95% 1.04-5.07) and minor psychiatric disorders (RP 2.26 IC95%1.15-4.43) were associated to hypertension. CONCLUSIONS: The fact of Santa Maria being located in the country side, without such intense and complex traffic, can be the explanation for the drivers not presenting a greater prevalence of hypertension when compared to their neighbors. The class profile probably surpasses bus drivers' professional activity in hypertension determination.
hypertension; bus drivers; occupational health; epidemiology; obesity
