Citation

Birdsey J, Alterman T, Li J, Petersen MR, Sestito J. AAOHN J. 2010; 58(11): 473-480.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, Publisher Healio)

DOI

10.3928/08910162-20101018-01

PMID

20964270

Abstract

Previous studies report that truck drivers are at increased risk for illness and on-the-job mortality. It is unknown whether owner-operator truck drivers face the same risks as employee drivers, yet few studies have targeted owner-operators as a study population. This study examined the overall and cause-specific mortality ratios for a cohort with owner-operator truck drivers constituting 69% of the study population. Of the 26 major disease classifications and 92 specific causes of death examined, only mortality due to transportation accidents was significantly elevated (standardized mortality ratio = 1.52, 95% confidence interval = 1.36-1.70). Leading causes of death were ischemic heart disease and lung cancer, although risk was below that of the general population. Transportation accidents pose a particular hazard for members of the trade association. The absence of excess disease mortality deserves careful interpretation, and may be due to both a strong healthy worker effect and a short monitoring period.

Language: en