[The effect of risk factors on development of myocardial infarction among professional drivers in Kaunas].

We investigated effect of risk factors on elevated first myocardial infarction risk among professional drivers. We carried out case-control study among men aged 25-64 years in Kaunas in 1997-2000. We identified myocardial infarction cases (n=448) from the myocardial infarction hospital register (International Classification of Diseases, 10-th revision, code 121). Controls (n=1777) were selected on the basis of age, gender and city district of residence. We obtained information on sociodemographic, psychosocial and behavioral factors. We used the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) to code for occupations and conducted logistic regression analysis to evaluate association of risk factors with myocardial infarction in professional drivers. Compared with other occupations being a professional driver was associated with increased risk of first myocardial infarction with odds ratio (OR) adjusted for smoking, hypertension, presence of stress, obesity and educational status 1.42 and 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.06-1.90. However additional adjustment for exposure to occupational vibration for 20 years or more eliminated effect of this occupation (OR 0.96, 95%CI 0.67-1.37). Among drivers exposure to occupational vibration for > or =20 years was most closely related to myocardial infarction (OR 3.01, 95% CI 1.54-5.89), while hypertension was associated with OR 2.80 (95% CI 1.58-4.96).