KNEE PAIN AND DRIVING DURATION: A SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF THE TAXI DRIVERS' HEALTH STUDY

Objectives. We explored a postulated association between daily driving time and knee pain. Methods. We used data from the Taxi Drivers’ Health Study to estimate 1-year prevalence of knee pain as assessed by the Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire. Results. Among 1242 drivers, the prevalence of knee pain, stratified by duration of daily driving ( 6, > 6 through 8, > 8 through 10, and > 10 hours), was 11%, 17%, 19%, and 22%, respectively. Compared with driving 6 or fewer hours per day, the odds ratio of knee pain prevalence for driving more than 6 hours per day was 2.52 (95% confidence interval = 1.36, 4.65) after we adjusted for socioeconomic, work-related, and personal factors in the multiple logistic regression. Conclusions. The dose-related association between driving duration and knee pain raises concerns about work-related knee joint disorders among professional drivers.