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Horsepower of Doctors' Cars Correlates with Cardiovascular Risk and Sedentary Lifestyle but Not with Sexual
David Niederseer1,2,3, Thomas Gilhofer4, Christian Schmied5
1Department of Cardiology, University Heart Center, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland. david.niederseer@usz.ch.
Insights
Physicians with higher car horsepower were older, earned more, and had higher cardiovascular risk. However, car engine power was not linked to sexual satisfaction or dysfunction in this study.
Area of Science:
- Medical research
- Socioeconomic factors in health
- Cardiovascular health
Background:
- Physician income and social status correlate with car horsepower.
- Previous research has not clearly defined the relationship between physician car horsepower and cardiovascular health or sexual function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate associations between self-reported car horsepower and various health aspects among physicians.
- To evaluate the link between physician car engine power and cardiovascular risk factors, sexual satisfaction, and sexual dysfunction.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with physicians from two Austrian university hospitals.
- Data from 363 physicians (mean age 37.7 years, 57.3% male) were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Higher car horsepower correlated with older age, male gender, leadership positions, higher income, and increased scientific output.
- Physicians with more powerful cars had higher rates of hypercholesterolemia, higher body mass index, and reported less frequent healthy commuting.
- No significant associations were found between car horsepower and physical fitness, smoking status, arterial hypertension, sexual satisfaction, or sexual dysfunction.
Conclusions:
- Car horsepower in Austrian physicians is associated with career seniority and elevated cardiovascular risk.
- The study found no relationship between the horsepower of physicians' cars and sexual dysfunction or satisfaction.
Abstract:
Background: The horsepower not only of doctors' cars correlates with personal income and social status. However, no clear relationship has previously been described between the horsepower of doctors' cars and cardiovascular health or sexual dysfunction and/or satisfaction. Objective: Cross-sectional online survey to evaluate associations between self-reported horsepower of physicians' cars and health aspects. Methods: Of 1877 physicians from the two University-Hospitals in Austria that were asked to participate in the study, 363 (37.7 ± 8.0 years, 208 (57.3%) men) were included into the final analysis. Results: Physicians that own a car with a stronger engine were significantly older, were more often male, had more often a leading position, had a higher monthly income (all p < 0.001), had a higher scientific output (p = 0.030), and had hypercholesteremia more often (p = 0.009). They also tended to have a higher body mass index (p = 0.088), reported a higher maximum weight in previous years (p = 0.004) and less often reported regular healthy commuting to and from work (p = 0.010). No significant associations were found for self-reported physical fitness, smoking status, and arterial hypertension. In addition, sexual satisfaction and sexual dysfunction were also not related to horsepower in the whole population and the male subgroup. The findings essentially persisted after controlling for age. Conclusion: The horsepower of Austrian physicians' cars correlates with senior position and increased cardiovascular risk. However, our data shows no relationship between sexual dysfunction or lack of sexual satisfaction and the horsepower of doctors' cars.