Mortality Patterns in the U.S. Trucking Industry

Sample size: 54319 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Francine Laden, Jaime E. Hart, Thomas J. Smith, Mary E. Davis, Eric Garshick

Primary Institution: Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School

What are the cause-specific mortality rates in the unionized U.S. trucking industry compared to the general U.S. population?

The study found elevated mortality rates due to lung cancer and ischemic heart disease among truck drivers compared to the general population.

Drivers and dockworkers showed elevated rates of lung cancer with SMRs of 1.10.
Ischemic heart disease mortality was elevated among drivers (SMR = 1.49) and dockworkers (SMR = 1.32).
The study included a large cohort of 54,319 male employees from the trucking industry.

Truck drivers are more likely to die from lung cancer and heart disease than most other workers because of their job.

The study used records from four national trucking companies to assess cause-specific mortality among 54,319 male employees from 1985 to 2000.

The representativeness of unionized workers to the broader trucking industry may introduce bias.

The study could not control for confounding factors like smoking and diet due to the retrospective nature of the cohort.

The cohort consisted of 54,319 male employees, predominantly white (83.1%), with a mean age of 42.2 years in 1985.

95% CI, 1.02–1.19 for lung cancer; 95% CI, 1.40–1.59 for ischemic heart disease.

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