Excessive work hours and hypertension: Evidence from the NIOSH survey data

摘要

Hypertension is common among truck and bus drivers. Few studies analyze how working conditions, including wages and work hours, might correlate with hypertension among these workers. We hypothesize that long work hours contribute to long-haul truck drivers' hypertension. This paper analyzes data collected from 722 U.S. longhaul employee truck drivers, including drivers taking anti-hypertensive drugs (n = 186; 25.75%), drivers diagnosed with hypertension but not taking medication (n = 64; 8.86%), and drivers with no hypertension history (n = 472; 65.35%). Using a multinomial logit model, we find that that longer work hours are associated with a higher probability of suffering from hypertension. However, drivers who take hypertension medication also work fewer hours per week; perhaps they take their medicine and proactively reduce their work intensity. Alternatively, it may mean that for unknown reasons, drivers who do not take hypertensive drugs but who also work longer hours work for employers who demand more working hours from them as a condition of their employment. Economic theory suggests that truck drivers who have the liberty to choose their hours would work fewer hours in order to reduce their blood pressure. Since commercial drivers face a tradeoff between income and health, this study suggests that drivers who take medication for hypertension may accept lower overall earnings by working fewer hours in order to forestall worsening hypertension. Drivers who lack the liberty to choose their work hours may work longer hours despite their hypertension. They may have "bad jobs" injurious to their health.