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Alzheimer's disease mortality among taxi and ambulance drivers (2024)

bmj.com

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Re: Alzheimer's disease mortality among taxi and ambulance drivers (2024)

#41

Post by randycupertino »

joecool1029 wrote: post #14

I was really expecting this to be higher not lower due to factors like particulate inhalation from exhaust/brake dust/tire particles. Also there's a lot of sedentary-type problems you get while taxi driving like bad diet habits that are not conducive to brain health. Dunno, did taxi driving for a few years. Mostly suburban for a small fleet, not gigging. I'm thinking newer drivers that rely on smartphones for navigat…

Ambulance drivers, truckers, delivery drivers and taxi drivers are more likely to get bladder cancer, most likely from holding in urine but also probably from diesel fumes and pathogens from road dust particulate matter.

My shitty ambo company sold our sleeping quarters as revenge when we tried to unionize and so we would have to sleep in the rig and would run the engine to keep warm, I am sure I will meet an early death from sucking in all those diesel fumes over night shifts.

Re: Alzheimer's disease mortality among taxi and ambulance drivers (2024)

#42

Post by randycupertino »

skyberrys wrote: post #25
joecool1029 wrote: post #14

I was really expecting this to be higher not lower due to factors like particulate inhalation from exhaust/brake dust/tire particles. Also there's a lot of sedentary-type problems you get while taxi driving like bad diet habits that are not conducive to brain health. Dunno, did taxi driving for a few years. Mostly suburban for a small fleet, not gigging. I'm thinking newer drivers that rely on smartphones for navigat…

I was thinking the same thing, about the tire particles and sedentary problems. It's really true the what you do for your daily work over many years shapes your body.

Probably die early from lung or bladder cancer but you won't get alzheimer's!

Re: Alzheimer's disease mortality among taxi and ambulance drivers (2024)

#43

Post by idiotsecant »

47 wrote: post #40

The biggest weakness in the study is that Taxi and ambulance drivers in the dataset died around 64 to 67, versus 74 for other occupations [0]. If Alzheimer's is much more likely to show up later, then lower Alzheimer's related death rates among Taxi and ambulance drivers may reflect earlier mortality rather than any effect from the job. [0] https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-study-...

If you read it, one of the first things they discuss is methodology for adjusting for age at death as it relates to Alzheimer's mortality, citing exactly this objection. I'm not a statistician and I don't know if their methodology is solid or not, but it's been addressed.

Re: Alzheimer's disease mortality among taxi and ambulance drivers (2024)

#45

Post by p0w3n3d »

90d wrote: post #44

I wonder what a similar study will look like for those who enjoy competitive online gaming into their old age. If the microplastics do not get to our brain first, of course.

My guess: On the left of the mortality curve are those who play Minecraft without mods and not using maps, and on the very right edge are those who use modded Minecraft with minimap.

I wonder what about gta players. And does playing GTA mainly in taxi count in

Re: Alzheimer's disease mortality among taxi and ambulance drivers (2024)

#46

Post by minhaz23 »

90d wrote: post #44

I wonder what a similar study will look like for those who enjoy competitive online gaming into their old age. If the microplastics do not get to our brain first, of course.

What have you been doing to prevent / reduce microplastics?

Re: Alzheimer's disease mortality among taxi and ambulance drivers (2024)

#47

Post by heazik »

emmelaich wrote: post #26
fn-mote wrote: post #2

The rate of fatality for Alzheimer’s among ambulance and taxi drivers is 3x lower than the general population. This is not observed in other transportation-related careers. The connection is believed to be the spatial reasoning involved in routing. No causative link is suggested.

What are some possibilities? 1. Those with spatial reasoning are less likely to develop Alzheimers 2. Ambo and Taxi drivers are less likely (for some reason) to develop Alzheimers AND their work leads them to develop good spatial reasoning. Any others? One consideration is that those with jobs requiring long periods of concentration drink less. Among other things.

- Drivers with early symptoms of Alzheimer’s struggled to remain effective and changed profession

Re: Alzheimer's disease mortality among taxi and ambulance drivers (2024)

#48

Post by rapidaneurism »

emmelaich wrote: post #26
fn-mote wrote: post #2

The rate of fatality for Alzheimer’s among ambulance and taxi drivers is 3x lower than the general population. This is not observed in other transportation-related careers. The connection is believed to be the spatial reasoning involved in routing. No causative link is suggested.

What are some possibilities? 1. Those with spatial reasoning are less likely to develop Alzheimers 2. Ambo and Taxi drivers are less likely (for some reason) to develop Alzheimers AND their work leads them to develop good spatial reasoning. Any others? One consideration is that those with jobs requiring long periods of concentration drink less. Among other things.

People with excess brain capacity are able to easily acquire spatial reasoning, and can (more) easily work/qualify for ambo and taxi jobs. Their excess brain capacity makes progressive brain damage more difficult to impact them before other causes of death.

Re: Alzheimer's disease mortality among taxi and ambulance drivers (2024)

#49

Post by praptak »

randycupertino wrote: post #32
fn-mote wrote: post #2

The rate of fatality for Alzheimer’s among ambulance and taxi drivers is 3x lower than the general population. This is not observed in other transportation-related careers. The connection is believed to be the spatial reasoning involved in routing. No causative link is suggested.

> The connection is believed to be the spatial reasoning involved in routing. This is triggering me lol. I was a Paramedic for 10 years and 3 of those years were before GPS existed and we had these awful 900 page 5" thick things we had to wield on the fly called Map Books. It was part of our probation period testing and they would time us to pick out the routes reliably within a certain deadline or not graduate from…

In a similar vein, to drive a black taxi in London you have to pass The Knowledge of London exam which requires becoming a human routing database for over twenty thousand streets and landmarks.

Re: Alzheimer's disease mortality among taxi and ambulance drivers (2024)

#50

Post by thereticent »

heazik wrote: post #47
emmelaich wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are some possibilities? 1. Those with spatial reasoning are less likely to develop Alzheimers 2. Ambo and Taxi drivers are less likely (for some reason) to develop Alzheimers AND their work leads them to develop good spatial reasoning. Any others? One consideration is that those with jobs requiring long periods of concentration drink less. Among other things.

- Drivers with early symptoms of Alzheimer’s struggled to remain effective and changed profession

I had the same thought, but occupation on the birth certificate is the "usual" occupation the person held.
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