Sociodemographic and lifestyle factors and the risk of metabolic syndrome in taxi drivers: A focus on street food

Abstract

BackgroundIn South Africa, similar to other populous countries, the taxi industry is an important form of transportation that contributes to the country's development. As a result, minibus taxi driving is an occupation characterized by strenuous activities such as long hours of driving, limited rest, and challenges related to securing passengers, among several others. Consequently, to combat stress, some commercial drivers resort to smoking, overeating unhealthy food sold at transportation interchange areas (i.e., taxi ranks), and participating in sedentary behaviors. Most of these activities are risk factors for metabolic syndrome (MetS).AimTherefore, this study aimed to investigate the sociodemographic and lifestyle factors that predispose South African taxi drivers who work in the Cape Town Metropole area to the risk of developing MetS.MethodsThis cross-sectional study used a convenient sampling method that included 185 male minibus taxi drivers aged 20 years or above. The participants were interviewed using a validated questionnaire to gather information regarding their sociodemographic characteristics and lifestyle practices. They also underwent physical and metabolic assessments, and the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria were used to diagnose people with MetS.ResultsOverall, the mean age and driving experience of the taxi drivers were 40.0 years (SD: 10.7) and 9.1 years (SD: 7.4), respectively, with those with MetS being significantly older and having more driving experience than those without. Older participants were 3 and 2.9 times more likely to be diagnosed with MetS than the younger participants. Most taxi drivers (70%) met the IDF diagnostic criteria for MetS. Smokers, those who spent more than 100 ZAR (USD 5.9) and those who spent less than 1.4 MET-minutes per week on physical activity were 1.96, 2.0, and 13.6 times more likely to suffer from MetS that those who were nonsmokers, those who spent less than 100 ZAR and those who spent <1.4 MET-minutes per week on physical activity. Consumption of alcohol and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), as well as takeaway and fried foods, snacks, and sold by the SF vendors, increased the likelihood of developing MetS, abnormal HDL-C, TG, and hypertension, while avoiding takeaway and fried foods decreased this likelihood. Taxi drivers who also avoided consuming fresh fruits had abnormal HDL-C.ConclusionThese findings have significant public health implications, highlighting the need for South African policymakers to adopt a system-level approach to promote lifestyle changes among taxi drivers within the taxi industry. This can help reduce the health risks faced by these drivers and improve their overall health profile.

Self-Management of Diabetes and Associated Factors among Patients Seeking Chronic Care in Tshwane, South Africa: A Facility-Based Study

“…Amidst increasing cardiovascular risk factors [68], the burden of diabetes and poor management pose serious threats, considering the high rates of NCDs converging with HIV in the antiretroviral era [69][70][71] in South Africa and SSA. In addition, metabolic syndrome [72,73] accompanied by alarming rates of obesity [74][75][76] and the burden of hypertension [77][78][79][80] are also observed. As was reported in this study, hypertension (22%) was the common comorbidity and the prevalence of obesity (68%) was high.…”

“…In Table 4, the combined scores of self-management activities and compliance were assessed over the last eight weeks using DSMQ. The assessed self-care management activities are presented as means ± SD, frequencies, and proportions, and categorised as poor (0-37), fair (38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52)(53)(54)(55)(56)(57), and good (58)(59)(60)(61)(62)(63)(64)(65)(66)(67)(68)(69)(70)(71)(72)(73)(74)(75)(76)(77). The results showed that only 10% had a good total diet, 10% were good with exercise, 75% had a good total medication score, and only 3% had a good total self-testing score.…”

Prevalence and Determination of Hypertension among Diabetes Mellitus Patients Attending Primary Health Care Centres

“…Among patients with type 2 diabetes, sedentary activity exceeding 4 hours and high stress levels were also significantly associated with hypertension. Sedentary behavior has been recognized as an independent risk factor for hypertension (Teixeira et al, 2023;Gonzalez & Bolaños, 2023;Paterson et al, 2023;You et al, 2023), while chronic stress has been implicated in blood pressure dysregulation through various physiological pathways (Gayathri, Sujata & Thakur, 2023;Sekgala et al, 2023).…”