The prevalence of signs and symptoms of laryngopharyngeal reflux and laryngeal precancerous lesions in urban taxi drivers

Depression, anxiety and stress in taxi drivers: a systematic review of the literature

PURPOSE

Mental health is a global public health challenge, with mental disorders being a major cause of morbidity. Particularly, taxi drivers face unique challenges related to long working hours, economic instability, and hazardous working conditions. To summarise the existing scientific literature on mental disorders in taxi drivers and identify associated variables.

METHODS

PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases were examined from inception to April 2024 following the PRISMA guidelines. Two authors independently selected original studies. We included observational studies published in English or Spanish or Portuguese, which assessed the mental health of taxi drivers. The Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHBLI) was used to assess the quality of the articles.

RESULTS

From an initial pool of 618 studies, eleven met the inclusion criteria and were included in the present systematic review. The findings indicate a considerable prevalence of mental health issues among taxi drivers in comparison to the general population. The prevalence of depression ranged from 14.3 to 60.5% and were driven by a number of factors, including perceived mental strain, lack of respect from operators, a stressful personal life, insufficient sleep, poor working conditions, work-family conflict and low work engagement. Anxiety was reported by 24.1-47% of drivers, with a lack of sufficient sleep being identified as a primary contributing factor. The prevalence of stress ranged from 19 to 55%, with key contributing factors including discrimination, smoking, limited language proficiency, sleep disorders and younger age. Furthermore, 33% of drivers displayed elevated levels of psychological distress, frequently linked to traumatic experiences and occupational hazards.

CONCLUSIONS

Rates of depression, anxiety, stress and psychological distress are higher in taxi drivers than in general population, therefore prevention strategies should target this group.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO registration no. CRD42023360073.

Diagnostic Value of Spiral CT and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scanning in Gastric Cancer and Precancerous Lesions

In order to explore the diagnostic value of spiral CT and magnetic resonance imaging scanning in gastric cancer and precancerous lesions, the author selected 56 gastric cancer patients treated in a medical center (group) as the experimental subjects, and all patients underwent MRI, multislice spiral CT scan, and enhanced CT scan two weeks before surgery; at the same time, the gastric cancer staging results of patients were diagnosed according to surgical pathology. All patients were examined under the condition of knowledge and performed breath-holding exercise before examination. The status, location, and extent of tumor lesions were evaluated. In comparison of T staging of gastric cancer patients with magnetic resonance scanning imaging and postoperative pathological examination results, among them, T staging of 3 patients did not match the results of pathological examination, the accuracy rates of T staging on magnetic resonance scanning imaging were T1 = 94.7%, T2 = 87.6%, T3 = 91.2%, and T4 = 94.7%, and the total accuracy was 92.1%. Comparison of helical CT scan imaging and postoperative pathological examination results is as follows. Among them, T staging of 8 patients did not match the results of pathological examination, 3 patients were ulcerative, 5 were protuberance, the accuracy rates of T staging in spiral CT scan imaging were T1 = 90.8%, T2 = 82.2%, T3 = 76.9%, and T4 = 87.6%, and the total accuracy was 84.5%. The total accuracy rate of imaging N staging was 77.5%, and the total accuracy rate of spiral CT scanning imaging N staging was 80.8%. The accuracy rates of M0 and M1 staging in magnetic resonance imaging were 100.0% and 96.5%, respectively, and the accuracy rates of M0 and M1 staging in spiral CT scan imaging were 96.5% and 96.5%, respectively. The accuracy rate of magnetic resonance imaging for the diagnosis of gastric cancer N staging was 77.4%, and the reason for the low accuracy rate was mainly because the enhancement effect was not obvious due to insufficient enhancement. The accuracy rate of spiral CT in diagnosing N staging of gastric cancer was 80.9%, which was mainly due to the small diameter of the middle celiac artery lymph nodes. Magnetic resonance and spiral CT scans have high value in the early diagnosis and staging of gastric cancer.

Relationship Between Pepsin Expression and Dysplasia Grade in Patients With Vocal Cord Leukoplakia

OBJECTIVE

To measure pepsin expression in patients with vocal fold leukoplakia and elucidate its clinical significance.

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective analysis of pathologic archive specimens.

SETTING

Affiliated university hospital.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

The study included 45 patients with vocal fold leukoplakia and 19 with vocal fold polyps who underwent surgical treatment between December 2013 and July 2016. Masses were detected on both vocal cords in 5 patients with vocal fold leukoplakia and in 1 patient with vocal fold polyps. Immunohistochemistry was used to assess pepsin expression. In addition, the relationship of pepsin expression level with clinical characteristics of vocal fold leukoplakia was assessed.

RESULTS

The rate of pepsin expression was high in the polyp group (75%) and the leukoplakia group (68%); however, the difference between groups was not significant (P > .05). Pepsin expression significantly increased according to grade of dysplasia (mild, 57.1%; moderate, 88.9%; severe, 100.0%; P = .034). Similarly, the percentage of lesions that exhibited strongly positive pepsin expression increased with the grade of dysplasia (mild, 37.1%; moderate, 66.7%; severe, 100.0%; P = .005). The leukoplakia recurrence rate was higher in patients with positive pepsin expression than in patients with negative pepsin expression but without a significant difference (P > .05).

CONCLUSION

Our study suggests that pepsin was associated with the grade of dysplasia of vocal cord leukoplakia. Further investigation with appropriate control groups and controlling for other risk factors, such as smoking or alcohol consumption, is needed.