Job strain and incident metabolic syndrome over 5 years of follow-up: the coronary artery risk development in young adults study.

Pubmed ID: 23171915

Journal: Journal of occupational and environmental medicine

Publication Date: Dec. 1, 2012

Affiliation: Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vt 05405, USA. erika.edwards@uvm.edu

MeSH Terms: Humans, Male, Adult, Female, Risk Factors, Proportional Hazards Models, Young Adult, Follow-Up Studies, Stress, Psychological, Occupational Diseases, Surveys and Questionnaires, Metabolic Syndrome

Authors: Edwards EM, Stuver SO, Heeren TC, Fredman L

Cite As: Edwards EM, Stuver SO, Heeren TC, Fredman L. Job strain and incident metabolic syndrome over 5 years of follow-up: the coronary artery risk development in young adults study. J Occup Environ Med 2012 Dec;54(12):1447-52.

Studies:

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Theories of stress-induced metabolic syndrome predict that job strain would increase risk. Few studies have evaluated this association. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between job strain and the risk of metabolic syndrome. METHODS: We investigated associations between job strain and incident metabolic syndrome adjusted for sociodemographic factors, health behaviors, and depressive symptoms over 5 years among 2966 black and white men and women in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study. Job strain was categorized by Karasek's model: high demands/low control; high demands/high control; low demands/low control; and low demands/high control. RESULTS: Compared with persons in low-strain jobs, men in active jobs (adjusted hazards ratio, 2.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.5 to 4.9) and women in high strain jobs (adjusted hazards ratio, 2.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.0 to 4.6) had significantly increased risk of metabolic syndrome. CONCLUSION: Job strain may be a modifiable risk factor for metabolic syndrome and subsequent cardiovascular disease.