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Background and purpose: Today high blood pressure is considered as one of the most important public health problems and there is a high relationship between that and cardiovascular diseases. In Iran more than 15 percent of adults are seen with hypertension. The incidence of sudden death is more than two-thirds in patients with hypertension compared with those who have normal blood pressure. The prevalence of hypertension is high among professional drivers due to their sedentary lifestyle, poor nutrition, stress and tobacco consumption. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of hypertension and its relationship with risk factors among professional drivers. Materials and methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 400 drivers working in suburban parts of Mazandaran province. The data including systolic and diastolic blood pressure, age, experience, body mass index, and the BMI were recorded. Then the correlation of these variables with systolic and diastolic blood pressure was measured. The data was analyzed using Pearson's Chi-square test in SPSS. High blood pressure was defined as systolic blood pressure > 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure > 90 mmHg. Results: The results showed that 20% of drivers had high blood pressure and 53.2% were pre-hypertensive. The mean systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were 119.6 + 15/2 and 77.41 + 8.5, respectively. The drivers were 72% overweight or obese. Statistical tests showed significant linear correlation between age, experience, body mass index and hypertension (P< 0.05). Conclusion: The prevalence of high blood pressure was 20% among the studied population and a high percentage were pre-hypertensive. Prevention and control of hypertension is necessary to prevent drivers from entering pre-hypertension to hypertension stage. In order to reduce the risk factors, efforts should be made to improve their lifestyle and the best approach could be through educational programs provided by authorities.

Keywords: Hypertension, professional drivers, prevalence

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