Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Sep;36(7):1142-1151.
doi: 10.1177/08901171221090500. Epub 2022 Apr 11.

Factors Associated with Colorectal Cancer Prevalence Among Long-Haul Truck Drivers in the United States

Charles R Rogers  1 , Folasade P May  2 , Ethan Petersen  1 , Ellen Brooks  1 , Jasmine A Lopez  1 , Carson D Kennedy  1 , Matthew S Thiese  1
Affiliations

Factors Associated with Colorectal Cancer Prevalence Among Long-Haul Truck Drivers in the United States

Charles R Rogers et al. Am J Health Promot. 2022 Sep.

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the age-adjusted association between colorectal cancer (CRC) risk factors and CRC prevalence among long-haul truck drivers (aged 21-85), after adjustment for age.

Design: Pooled cross-sectional analysis using Commercial Driver Medical Exam (CDME) data. Setting. National survey data from January 1, 2005, to October 31, 2012.

Participants: 47,786 commercial motor vehicle drivers in 48 states.

Measures: CRC prevalence was the primary outcome; independent variables included demographics, body mass index (BMI), and concomitant medical conditions.

Analysis: Kruskal-Wallis tests to analyze continuous variables; Fischer's exact tests to analyze categorical variables; univariate and multivariable logistic regression for rare events (Firth method) to quantify the association between the independent variables of interest and CRC prevalence. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were adjusted for age, gender, years with current employer, year of exam, and BMI in a multivariate logistic regression.

Results: Many factors were statistically significant. Obesity (OR = 3.14; 95% CI = 1.03-9.61) and increasing age (OR = 1.10 per year; 95% CI = 1.07-1.13) were significantly associated with CRC prevalence. Truckers with 4 or more concomitant medical conditions were significantly more likely to have CRC (OR = 7.03; 95% CI = 1.83-27.03).

Conclusions: Our findings highlight mutable risk factors and represent an opportunity for intervention that may decrease CRC morbidity and mortality among truck drivers, a unique population in the United States estimated to live up to 16 years less than the general population.

Keywords: body mass index; colonic neoplasms; diabetes mellitus; gastrointestinal diseases; gender role; occupational health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Although unrelated to this study, Dr. Charles R. Rogers offers scientific input to research studies through an investigator services agreement between the University of Utah and Exact Sciences.

References

    1. American Cancer Society. Colorectal Cancer Facts & Figures 2020–2022. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2021. https://www.cancer.org/research/cancer-facts-statistics/all-cancer-facts...
    1. Periyanayagam U, Dwyer A, Kim J, Garcia R, Worrall S, Davis A. New Colorectal Cancer Diagnoses Fall by One-Third as Colonoscopy Screenings and Biopsies Grind to a Halt during Height of COVID-19. KomodoHealth and Fight Colorectal Cancer; 2020. https://www.komodohealth.com/insights/2020/05/new-colorectal-cancer-diag....
    1. Siegel RL, Miller KD, Sauer AG, et al. Colorectal cancer statistics, 2020. CA: Cancer J. Clin 2020;70(3):145–164. doi:10.3322/caac.21601 - DOI - PubMed
    1. DeSantis CE, Miller KD, Goding Sauer A, Jemal A, Siegel RL. Cancer statistics for African Americans, 2019. CA Cancer J Clin. 2019;69(3):211–233. doi:10.3322/caac.21555 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Islami F, Sauer AG, Miller KD, Siegel RL, et al. Proportion and number of cancer cases and deaths attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors in the United States. CA: Cancer J Clin. 2018;68(1):31–54. doi:10.3322/caac.21440 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types