Job strain and health-related lifestyle: Findings from an individual-participant meta-analysis of 118 000 working adults

K. Heikkilä, E.I. Fransson, S.T. Nyberg, M. Zins, H. Westerlund, P. Westerholm, M. Virtanen, J. Vahtera, S. Suominen, A. Steptoe, P. Salo, J. Pentti, T. Oksanen, M. Nordin, M.G. Marmot, T. Lunau, K.-H. Ladwig, M. Koskenvuo, A. Knutsson, F. Kittel, K.-H. Jöckel, M. Goldberg, R. Erbel, N. Dragano, D. DeBacquer, E. Clays, A. Casini, L. Alfredsson, J.E. Ferrie, A. Singh-Manoux, G.D. Batty and M. Kivimäki

American Journal of Public Health, 2013, vol. 103, issue 11, 2090-2097

Abstract: Objectives. We examined the associations of job strain, an indicator of work-related stress, with overall unhealthy and healthy lifestyles. Methods. We conducted a meta-analysis of individual-level data from 11 European studies (cross-sectional data: n = 118 701; longitudinal data: n = 43 971). We analyzed job strain as a set of binary (job strain vs no job strain) and categorical (high job strain, active job, passive job, and low job strain) variables. Factors used to define healthy and unhealthy lifestyles were body mass index, smoking, alcohol intake, and leisure-time physical activity. Results. Individuals with job strain were more likely than those with no job strain to have 4 unhealthy lifestyle factors (odds ratio [OR] = 1.25; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.12, 1.39) and less likely to have 4 healthy lifestyle factors (OR = 0.89; 95% CI = 0.80, 0.99). The odds of adopting a healthy lifestyle during study follow-up were lower among individuals with high job strain than among those with low job strain (OR = 0.88; 95% CI = 0.81, 0.96). Conclusions. Work-related stress is associated with unhealthy lifestyles and the absence of stress is associated with healthy lifestyles, but longitudinal analyses suggest no straightforward cause-effect relationship between workrelated stress and lifestyle. Copyright © 2013 by the American Public Health Association®.

Keywords: adult; cohort analysis; complication; cross-sectional study; Europe; female; health behavior; human; lifestyle; longitudinal study; male; mental stress; meta analysis; middle aged; occupational disease; prospective study; article; mental stress; occupational disease, Adult; Cohort Studies; Cross-Sectional Studies; Europe; Female; Health Behavior; Humans; Life Style; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Middle Aged; Occupational Diseases; Prospective Studies; Stress, Psychological, Adult; Cohort Studies; Cross-Sectional Studies; Europe; Female; Health Behavior; Humans; Life Style; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Middle Aged; Occupational Diseases; Prospective Studies; Stress, Psychological (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.2105/AJPH.2012.301090

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2012.301090_1

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.301090

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia

More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().