Fatiga laboral percibida en conductores de compañías de transporte de Orellana, Pichincha y Guayas / Perceived work fatigue in drivers of transport companies in Orellana, Pichincha, and Guayas

RESUMEN Introducción: los conductores de transporte están expuestos a largas jornadas que pueden provocar fatiga física por excesiva concentración visual y esfuerzos en diversos músculos. La fatiga laboral que experimentan puede ser definida como un estado no placentero, por la saturación de actividad muscular, mental y afectiva que induce a enfermedades en los sistemas gástrico, circulatorio e inmunológico, al igual que a trastornos del sueño. Objetivo: analizar la fatiga laboral percibida en relación con sus factores asociados, en choferes de compañías de transporte provenientes de tres provincias de Ecuador. Materiales y métodos: se realizó un estudio de tipo no experimental, prospectivo, analítico y transversal, en 141 conductores profesionales de tres provincias ecuatorianas. Se les aplicó el cuestionario sueco de fatiga ocupacional SOFI-SM, que evaluó la fatiga física, mental, psíquica e irritabilidad. Se realizó un análisis bivariado con las variables nominales de edad, escolaridad y antigüedad, a través de las pruebas Chi cuadrado de Pearson y V de Cramér. Para la comprobación de fatiga por provincia de procedencia, se realizó el análisis de covarianza mediante la prueba de Kruskal-Wallis. Resultados: se evidenció el nivel inadecuado e inaceptable de fatiga física, con una prevalencia del 64,5 % de inferencia estadística con el estado civil. No se presentaron diferencias significativas entre las puntuaciones totales del instrumento y la provincia de procedencia. Conclusiones: el nivel alto de fatiga indicó la urgencia de implementar actividades de recuperación, de adecuación de horarios y de contratación de más personal, puesto que este agotamiento ocasiona impericias, distracciones y malas decisiones que conllevan a los accidentes de tránsito. Es necesario intervenir desde la medicina laboral en la evaluación de la salud de los conductores para conocer cuáles son las enfermedades preexistentes que pudieran estar influyendo en la fatiga laboral.

ABSTRACT Introduction: transport drivers are exposed to long working days that can cause physical fatigue due to excessive visual concentration and effort in various muscles. The occupational fatigue they experiment may be defined as an unpleasant state, because of the saturation of the muscular, mental and affective activity that induces diseases in the gastric, circulatory and immunological systems as well as sleep disorders. Objective: to analyze perceived occupational fatigue in relation with its associated factors, in drivers of transportation companies from three provinces of Ecuador. Materials and methods: a non-experimental, prospective, analytical and cross-sectional study was conducted in 141 professional drivers of three Ecuadorian provinces. The Swedish occupational fatigue questionnaire SOFI-SM was applied, which evaluated the physical, mental, psychical fatigue and irritability. A bivariate analysis was carried out with the nominal variables age, schooling, and seniority through Pearsonꞌs Chi squared and Cramer's tests. To verify the fatigue by province of origin, the analysis of covariance was performed using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: the inadequate and unacceptable level of physical fatigue was evidenced, with a prevalence of 64.5 % of statistical inference with marital status. There were no significant differences between the total scores of the instrument and the province of origin. Conclusions: the high level of fatigue indicated the urgency of implementing recovery activities, adapting schedules and hiring more staff, since this exhaustion causes imperfections, distractions and bad decisions that lead traffic accidents. It is necessary to intervene from the occupational medicine in the evaluation of the health of the drivers to find out which pre-existing diseases could be influencing occupational fatigue.

Working Conditions, Job Strain, and Traffic Safety among Three Groups of Public Transport Drivers

BACKGROUND: Working conditions and psychosocial work factors have acquired an important role explaining the well-being and performance of professional drivers, including those working in the field of public transport. This study aimed to examine the association between job strain and the operational performance of public transport drivers and to compare the expositions with psychosocial risk at work of three different types of transport workers: taxi drivers, city bus drivers, and interurban bus drivers. METHOD: A sample of 780 professional drivers was drawn from three transport companies in Bogota (Colombia). The participants answered the Job Content Questionnaire and a set of sociodemographic and driving performance questions, including age, professional driving experience, work schedules, and accidents and penalties suffered in the last 2 years. RESULTS: Analyses showed significant associations between measures of socio-labor variables and key performance indicators such road traffic accidents and penalties. Furthermore, multiple linear regression analysis contributed to explain significantly suffered accidents from key variables of the Job Demand-Control model, essentially from job strain. In addition, throughout post-hoc analyses, significant differences were found in terms of perceived social support, job strain, and job insecurity. CONCLUSION: Work stress is an issue that compromises the safety of professional drivers. This research provides evidence supporting a significant effect of job strain on the professional driver's performance. Moreover, the statistically significant differences between taxi drivers, city bus drivers, and interurban bus drivers in their expositions to work-related stress suggest the need for tailored occupational safety interventions on each occupational group.

Reliability and validity of Driving Anger Scale in professional drivers in China / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective To assess the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of Driving Anger Scale (DAS) in professional drivers in China and provide a scientific basis for the application of the scale in drivers in China. Methods Professional drivers, including taxi drivers, bus drivers, truck drivers and school bus drivers, were selected to complete the questionnaire. Cronbach's α and split-half reliability were calculated to evaluate the reliability of DAS, and content, contract, discriminant and convergent validity were performed to measure the validity of the scale. Results The overall Cronbach'sα of DAS was 0.934 and the split-half reliability was 0.874. The correlation coefficient of each subscale with the total scale was 0.639-0.922. The simplified version of DAS supported a presupposed six-factor structure, explaining 56.371% of the total variance revealed by exploratory factor analysis. The DAS had good convergent and discriminant validity, with the success rate of calibration experiment of 100%. Conclusion DAS has a good reliability and validity in professional drivers in China, and the use of DAS is worth promoting in divers.

Reliability and validity of Driving Anger Scale in professional drivers in China / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective To assess the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of Driving Anger Scale (DAS) in professional drivers in China and provide a scientific basis for the application of the scale in drivers in China. Methods Professional drivers, including taxi drivers, bus drivers, truck drivers and school bus drivers, were selected to complete the questionnaire. Cronbach's α and split-half reliability were calculated to evaluate the reliability of DAS, and content, contract, discriminant and convergent validity were performed to measure the validity of the scale. Results The overall Cronbach'sα of DAS was 0.934 and the split-half reliability was 0.874. The correlation coefficient of each subscale with the total scale was 0.639-0.922. The simplified version of DAS supported a presupposed six-factor structure, explaining 56.371% of the total variance revealed by exploratory factor analysis. The DAS had good convergent and discriminant validity, with the success rate of calibration experiment of 100%. Conclusion DAS has a good reliability and validity in professional drivers in China, and the use of DAS is worth promoting in divers.

Conflito trabalho-família: um estudo com motoristas profissionais / Work-family conflict: a study of professional drivers / Conflicto trabajo-familia: un estudio con conductores profesionales

Este estudo pretende contribuir para a compreensão do conflito entre trabalho e família em motoristas profissionais que trabalham com transporte de passageiros e da influência que outras variáveis possam ter nesse âmbito. Foi analisada especificamente a relação entre o conflito trabalho-família e as variáveis sociodemográficas (idade), do contexto familiar (número e idade dos filhos) e do contexto profissional (duração da jornada de trabalho, satisfação com o trabalho, suporte social dos supervisores e suporte social dos colegas de trabalho). Os dados foram recolhidos por meio de questionário, tendo participado 154 trabalhadores de uma empresa de transportes de passageiros do norte de Portugal. Todos os participantes eram do sexo masculino, e a maioria deles tinha idade entre 40 e 59 anos, eram casados e tinham filhos. Os resultados revelaram que os motoristas apresentam valores médios relativamente reduzidos de conflito trabalho-família e indicaram que a idade dos filhos, o número de horas trabalhadas semanalmente e a percepção de suporte dos supervisores constituíram preditores significativos do conflito trabalho-família.

This study aims to contribute to the understanding of work-family conflict among professional drivers, and the influence that other variables may have in that context. We analyzed the relationship between work-family conflict and socio-demographic variables (age), family context (number of children and their ages), and professional context (number of working hours, job satisfaction, and perception of supervisor and co-worker social support) in particular. Data were collected through a questionnaire administered to 154 male workers of a passenger transport company in the north of Portugal. The majority of the participants were aged 40-50, were married, and had children. Data showed that the drivers reported relatively low mean levels of work-family conflict. Results also showed that the age of their children, weekly hours worked, and the perception of supervisor support were significant predictors of work-family conflict.

Este estudio pretende contribuir a la comprensión del conflicto entre trabajo y familia en conductores profesionales que trabajan con el transporte de pasajeros, y de la influencia que otras variables puedan tener en ese contexto. Específicamente, se analizó la relación entre el conflicto trabajo-familia y las variables sociodemográficas (edad), el contexto familiar (número de hijos y su edad), así como el contexto profesional (duración de la jornada de trabajo, satisfacción laboral, apoyo social de los supervisores y soporte social de los compañeros de trabajo). Los datos se recogieron mediante un cuestionario aplicado a 154 trabajadores hombres de una empresa de transporte de pasajeros del norte de Portugal. La mayoría de los participantes tenía entre 40 y 59 años, estaban casados y tenían hijos. Los resultados muestran que los conductores tienen valores medios relativamente bajos de conflicto trabajo-familia. Los resultados también indicaron que la edad de los hijos, el número de horas trabajadas semanalmente y la percepción de apoyo de los supervisores constituyeron predictores significativos del conflicto trabajo-familia.

Detección de compromiso respiratorio subdiagnosticado en transportistas de la ciudad de Córdoba / Detection of Underdiagnosed Respiratory Conditions Among Professional Drivers in Córdoba City

Los transportistas pueden constituir una población con características especiales: sedentarismo, tabaquismo y obesidad, que los predispone a numerosas enfermedades crónicas. Los objetivos de este trabajo fueron evaluar la prevalencia de compromiso respiratorio subdiagnosticado de tabaquismo y obesidad en transportistas de la Provincia de Córdoba. Material y métodos: Evaluación de 297 transportistas durante el examen médico para renovación de su licencia, en una clínica de la ciudad de Córdoba, a través de una encuesta anónima auto-administrada y espirometría. Resultados: La prevalencia de síntomas respiratorios fue de 81.1% y la de tabaquismo de 59.3%. El 46.1% fuma > 10 cigarrillos/día. De los sujetos con espirometría obstructiva, el 55.5% tiene historia de tabaquismo. La prevalencia de obesidad fue del 44.1% y de sobrepeso/obesidad 84.8%. No hubo correlación entre IMC aumentado y alteración espirométrica. El grupo de sobrepeso/obesidad tuvo mayor prevalencia de síntomas sugestivos de SAHOS ya sea en el análisis de síntomas individuales (ronquidos p = 0.0001, apneas p = 0.03 y somnolencia p = 0.05) como en forma conjunta (p = 0.016). Conclusiones: Se encontró patología obstructiva subdiagnosticada en el 10% de la población estudiada y un elevado porcentaje de sujetos con síntomas sugestivos de SAHOS. La prevalencia de tabaquismo fue doble de la media nacional y 30% superior a la media de la provincia de Córdoba. La prevalencia de obesidad fue 3 veces más elevada que la reportada en el país, con más del 80% de la muestra con IMC > 25 kg/m2.

Professional drivers may constitute a population with special features: sedentary lifestyle plus prevalence of smoking habit and obesity, which predispose them to several chronic diseases. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of underdiagnosed respiratory conditions, smoking habit and obesity, among professional drivers of Cordoba province. Material and Methods: Evaluation of 297 professional drivers during the medical examination for driving license renewal, at a clinic in the city of Córdoba, through a self - administered anonymous questionnaire and spirometry. Results: The prevalence of respiratory symptoms was 81.1% and that of the smoking habit was 59.3%; 46.1% smoked >10 cigarettes/day. In the group of subjects with obstructive spirometry, 55.5% had a history of smoking. The prevalence of obesity was 44.1% and overweight/obesity 84.8%. There was no correlation between increased BMI and spirometric impairment. The group of overweight/obesity had a higher prevalence of symptoms suggestive of OSA, both in the analysis of individual symptoms (snoring p = 0.0001, apnea p = 0.03 and somnolence p = 0.05 ) and in the analysis of all the symptoms together (p = 0.016). Conclusions: Obstructive underdiagnosed pathology was found in 10% of the study population and in a high percentage of subjects with symptoms suggestive of OSA. Smoking habit prevalence was twice the national average and 30% higher than the average of the Cordoba province. The prevalence of obesity was 3 times higher than that reported in the country; over 80% of the sample had a BMI higher than 25 kg/m2.

Cardiovascular Disease Risk of Bus Drivers in a City of Korea

OBJECTIVE: To prevent the occurrence of CV events such as MI and stroke among professional drivers in Korea, bus drivers were compared to other occupations through the Framingham risk scoring system (FRS) or metabolic syndrome (MS) of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessment methods. METHODS: In October 2012, a health examination survey was conducted for 443 male bus drivers in a big city. Their CVD risk factors were compared to those of a 'total employed' (A group) and 'crafts and machine operators' (B group) extracted from Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES, 2010) data by using FRS and MS. We calculated proportions of the CVD risk factors distribution between bus drivers and the A, B groups by the bootstrapping method. The Odds ratio (OR) between CV event risk combining MS with CHD equivalent risk of FRS and occupational factors like shift patterns and professional driving duration/age ratios (PDAR) of bus drivers was calculated through multinominal logistic regression. RESULTS: The proportion of BMI > or = 25 kg/m2 was 53.9% and waist circumference > or = 90cm was 40.9% among bus drivers. Hypertension and MS prevalence of bus drivers was 53.3%, 49.9% which is higher than 17.6%, 22.6% in the A group and 19.7%, 23.8% in the B group respectively. OR of high CV event risk in alternate shift was 2.58 (95% CI 1.33~5.00) in comparison with double shift pattern and OR in PDAR > or = 0.5 was 2.18 (95% CI 1.15~4.14). CONCLUSION: Middle aged male drivers in a big city of Korea stand a higher chance of developing CV event than other professions of the same age.

The characters of non-professional drivers' stress / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To explore the characters of non-professional drivers' stress. Methods Two hundred and sixty-four non-professional drivers in Chengdu city were randomly investigated by Driver Stress Inventory(DSI). One hundred and five professional drivers were as control group. Results ①Compared with professional drivers,non-professional drivers scored higher in thrill seeking, cognitive fatigue and aggression (non-professional drivers :4.63±1.49,5.12±1.56,5.65±1.42; professional drivers: 3.60 ± 2.04,3.97 ± 2.02,4.56 ±1.84, P ＜ 0.01 ) ,and lower in hazard monitoring, driving anxiety and physiological fatigue (non-professional drivers:7.04±1.48,6.44±1.50,5.78±1.75; professional drivers:7.89 ± 1.45,6.99 ± 1.28,6.45 ± 2.37, P ＜0.01 ). ②Non-professional drivers' stress had significant differences in gender, age, marital state and driving experiences (P＜0.05). The male drivers scored higher in thrill seeking, aggression and physiological fatigue (male:4.79±1.53,6.78±1.46,5.94 ± 1.80; female:4.32±1.37,5.80±1.37,5.50 ± 1.61, P ＜ 0.05 ). Compared with other age driver groups, the 20 ～29 driver group scored higher in cognitive fatigue (5.44 ± 1.38 ), and lower in hazard monitoring(6.77±1.44) ,driving anxiety (6.03 ±1.46). Compared with unmarried drivers, married non-professional drivers scored higher in hazard monitoring and driving anxiety ,and lower in cognitive fatigue( married drivers:7.23±1.43,6.65±1.48,4.88±1.6; unmarried drivers :6.77±1.47,6.06±1.43,5.59±1.36, P ＜0.05 ). The non-professional drivers who drove more than 20 thousand kilometers scored higher in driving anxiety (6.89±1.41). Conclusion The non-professional drivers' stress isn' t optimistic, and influenced by their gender,age, marital state and driving experiences. Stress management should pay attention to them.