Sleep-related breathing disorders common in truck drivers

In a survey of more than 900 Italian truck drivers, approximately half reported experiencing at least one sleep-related breathing problem, according to new results presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress.

The survey included the following questions about sleep:

• Do you sometimes stop breathing and have sleep apnea at night?
• Do you snore?
• Do you wake up needing to urinate urgently?
• Are you dissatisfied with how you have slept?
• Do you frequently feel the desire or need to sleep during the day, except after lunch?
• Do you take drugs for high blood pressure?

Of the 905 respondents (887 men; 18 women; average age, 46 years), 43% answered yes to at least two of the sleep questions, indicating risk for obstructive sleep apnea. Additionally, 10% of drivers said their partners noticed that they sometimes stopped breathing while sleeping and 55% were habitual snorers — of whom 15% also suffered from OSA, 35% reported dissatisfaction with how they slept and 21% reported daytime sleepiness, Luca Roberti, president of the Italian Sleep Apnea Patient Association reported at the meeting.

Seventeen percent of the drivers had high BP and 6% had diabetes.

Information was also collected from the truck drivers on height, weight, waist circumference, medical conditions, lifestyle factors, length of time as a hauler, distances covered, whether they drove national or international routes and the types of goods transported.

In a survey of more than 900 Italian truck drivers, approximately half reported experiencing at least one sleep-related breathing problem, according to new results presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress.

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“The data that came back partly surprised me, even if they were in line with the HypnoLaus study,” Roberti wrote in an email to Healio Pulmonology, adding that the percentage of truck drivers at risk for OSA was higher than in the general population.

Results showed that 77% of drivers were overweight or obese, with 43% having a BMI of 25 to 30, 23% having a BMI of 30 to 35, 9% having a BMI of 35 to 40 and 2% having a BMI greater than 40.

Furthermore, increasing age was not associated with OSA, but the percentage of drivers who snored was higher among older people, with 64% of those aged older than 50 reporting snoring compared with 53% of those aged 35 to 49 years and 43% of those aged younger than 35.

Roberti and colleagues conducted their study after being approached by the Fedetrasporti (Italian Transporters Federation) in 2018.

“We were asked to collaborate on a project that they were developing on the health of professional drivers, which was centered on general health checks, eyesight, physical activity and more,” he said, noting that they decided to add specific screening on sleep-related breathing disorders using an ad hoc questionnaire.

For the study, volunteer expert patients, doctors and nurses questioned drivers at truck dealerships and a truck driver show over 44 days.

Roberti said he and his colleagues are now verifying a sample of 5% of truckers — about 50 people — for eventual false positives or negatives to evaluate the sensitivity of the questionnaire.

“This study provides interesting data about sleep-disordered breathing among truck drivers and suggests that, as a group, they may have a higher prevalence of OSA than the general population,” Anita Simonds, MD, a consultant in respiratory and sleep medicine at Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust in the U.K. and vice president of the European Respiratory Society, said in a press release. “However, we can treat and improve OSA; measures such as stopping smoking, losing weight and being more physically active can help to improve the condition, which may help to reduce the risk of traffic accidents due to driver sleepiness. For more serious cases of OSA, effective treatments like continuous positive airway pressure can be provided. This helps people with OSA to breathe more easily in the night, which can improve patient quality of life and would also contribute to reducing driver sleepiness.” – by Melissa Foster

Reference:

Roberti L, et al. Abstract PA2000. Presented at: European Respiratory Society International Congress; Sept. 28-Oct. 2, 2019; Madrid.

For more information:

Luca Roberti can be reached at luca.roberti@apneedelsonno.it.

Disclosures: Roberti reports the Federtrasporti financed the transfer of volunteers and experts and ResMed supplied ApneaLink Air devices for the verification of the instruments used.