ABSTRACT
Bus driving is a highly responsible profession. It requires constant engagement of attention and cog- nitive resources as well as vigilance and resistance to disruption of sleep- rhythms. There is ongoing research of genetic correlates of these individual characteristics. The aim of this study is to search for possible connections between single nucleotide polymorphisms and the history of road traffic accidents in professional bus driving. 299 professional drives working on rolling shifts with recorded history of traffic accidents took part in the study. Polymorphisms in circadian rhythm-, cognitive and emotional function-related genes were genotyped: CLOCK (rs 12649507), RORA (rs1159814), NPAS2 (rs4851377), NPSR1 (rs324981), PER3 (rs2640909), DRD3 (rs6280), SLC6A3 (rs6347), DBH(rs1611125). Significant associations for polymorphisms in CLOCK, NPSR1 and SLC6A3 with traffic crash parameters were found. We suppose that they are mediated by the difference in chronotype and sleep deprivation resistance for CLOCKand cognitive and emotional control for NPSRI and SLC6A3 polymorphisms.
