Nutrition knowledge, prevalence and correlates of elevated blood pressure among commercial drivers in Ondo, Nigeria

Background: Commercial drivers are usually in transit and exposed to street foods. Their dietary choice and lifestyle could be influenced by nutrition knowledge, and predispose them to hypertension.Objective: To determine the level of nutrition knowledge, elevated blood pressure (EBP), and associated factors.Design A cross-sectional study was conducted using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data were analysed through SPSS 29.0 at 5% level of significance (p < 0.05).Setting: Three hundred commercial drivers were randomly selected from four motor parks in Ondo West local government area, Nigeria.Results: Participants were all males with a mean age and daily income of 42.0 ± 10.42 years and ₦3 932 ± 2 897.61, respectively. The majority (69.0%) had secondary education, 44.7% travelled interstate, 13.7% smoked cigarettes and 39.7% drank alcohol, while 51.6% frequently ate outside the home, and 48.7% had adequate nutrition knowledge. Overweight, obesity and abdominal adiposity and EBP accounted for 45.0%, 6.7%, 84.3% and 29.3%, respectively. Nutrition knowledge was associated with level of education (aOR: 1.59, 95% CI: 1.03–2.47; p = 0.038), cigarette smoking (aOR: 3.23, 95% CI: 1.49–7.02; p = 0.003) and frequency of eating outside the home (aOR: 1.39, 95% CI: 1.15–1.68; p = <0.001) while EBP was associated with waist–hip ratio (aOR: 6.17, 95% CI: 1.01–37.64; p = 0.049), route of transportation (aOR: 1.94, 95% CI: 1.04–3.64; p = 0.038) and brisk walking (aOR: 1.96, 95% CI: 1.09–3.51; p = 0.023).Conclusion: The findings indicate that inadequate nutrition knowledge predisposes to an unhealthy lifestyle, while abdominal adiposity and inactivity contribute to elevated BP. Incorporating nutrition and physical exercise into health education will help to alleviate cardiometabolic risk among commercial drivers in Nigeria.