Obesity indices are predictive of elevated C-reactive protein in long-haul truck drivers

Laurie Wideman, Douglas J. Oberlin, Sevil Sönmez, Jeffrey Labban, Michael Kenneth Lemke, Yorghos Apostolopoulos

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Obesity rates in long-haul truck drivers have been shown to be significantly higher than the general population. We hypothesized that commercial drivers with the highest levels of general obesity and abdominal adiposity would have higher concentrations of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation.

METHODS: Survey and anthropometric data were collected from 262 commercial drivers. Weight, circumference measures, and blood analysis for CRP (N = 115) were conducted and compared to National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data. CRP values were non-normally distributed and logarithmically transformed for statistical analyses.

RESULTS: BMI, waist circumference, sagittal abdominal diameter, and CRP were significantly higher than in the general population. Anthropometric indices that included height (BMI, waist-to-height ratio, and sagittal diameter-to-height ratio), were most predictive of CRP values.

CONCLUSIONS: Abdominal obesity is prevalent in commercial vehicle drivers and is an important indicator of the presence of inflammation in this population. Am. J. Ind. Med. 59:665-675, 2016.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)665-675
Number of pages11
JournalAmerican Journal of Industrial Medicine
Volume59
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Aug 2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • abdominal obesity
  • cardiovascular disease
  • commercial vehicle drivers
  • high sensitivity C-reactive protein
  • inflammation
  • obesity
  • sagittal diameter

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Obesity indices are predictive of elevated C-reactive protein in long-haul truck drivers'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this