The comparative study of the liver function indices among motorcycles and non motorcycles operators

Abstract

The use of motorcycle (Okada) for carrying passengers from one destination to another for commercial purposes has crept into Nigerian’s transportation activities and is now popular, possibly because it is faster especially when there is terrible hold ups and can also drop an individual at his door step. Nevertheless, during the course of their occupation motorcyclist consume and abuse some substances. Among substances that they abuse are alcoholic drinks, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, opiates, hallucinogens, inhalants, local psychoactive drugs and stimulants. Due to the unhealthy lifestyle they live during the course of their occupation this may have adverse effect on the physiology of some organs in their body such as the liver. Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of motorcycle operations on the liver function parameters. Methods: A total of 90 participants were selected using purposive sampling methods having determined the sample size. A cross sectional design and structured questionnaire was adopted for this study and the hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance on the SPSS version 21 window. Results: The study revealed that there was a significant difference (p<0.05) in the mean ±SD of some liver enzymes of motorcycle operators (subjects) and controls. Conclusion: It was concluded that unhealthy lifestyle they live during the course of their occupation have adverse effect on the physiology of the liver.