Ninth International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society

Abstract

Limited data exist on the health status of taxi drivers in Jilin City, China. Jilin is a city of ~5 million people in the northeast part of China. Taxi drivers (N = 309) were recruited for free health screenings to the Bo Hua Hospital via radio announcements and print advertisements. Taxi drivers who reported to the hospital and volunteered were assessed in the following areas: Blood pressure, height, weight, alcohol consumption habits, smoking habits, and exercise habits. Eighty percent were male (avg age 41); twenty percent were female (avg age 43). 65% of the male taxi drivers admit to alcohol use; whereas 94% of the female taxi drivers do not (p<0.0001). Male SBPs were significantly higher than female SBPs, with men averaging 127 +/- 1 mmHg and women around 117 +/- 2 mmHg (p<0.0001). Furthermore, there was a significant association of smoking and drinking (p<0.001) among the drivers. Both male and female systolic and diastolic blood pressures differed significantly when compared using independent t-tests (p< 0.0001) and by comparing resample confidence intervals - with males exhibiting the highest levels of blood pressure. 75.3% of the males were prehypertensive and 46.7% the females were prehypertensive (defined as >120/80 mmHg and <140/90 mmHg). Additionally, 24.7% of the males and 14.5% of the female taxi drivers exhibited hypertension (> 140/90 mmHg). Overall, the health status of taxi drivers in Jilin, China appears to be relatively positive. The hospitals intention now is to provide specific health education interventions based on results collected in this study.