Impact of a hypertension management/health promotion program on commercial driver's license employees of a self-insured utility company.

Abstract

Federal regulations governing transportation safety disqualify commercial drivers with persistent uncontrolled hypertension. We sought to determine whether a hypertension management and health promotion program designed for commercial drivers improved blood pressure (BP) outcomes among drivers employed by a self-insured utility company. This retrospective study examined the employment-related medical examinations of 501 randomly selected commercial drivers for measurements of BP, height, and weight taken before and after the intervention. After the program, significantly fewer employees had uncontrolled hypertension according to the Department of Transportation hypertension guidelines (17.2% vs 26.1%, P < 0.01). This improvement was consistent across subgroups defined by diabetes, obesity, and use of antihypertensive medication. An education program improved control of BP among commercial drivers, improving their health and safety, and reducing the number at high risk of medical disqualification.