Psychosocial stressors at work may elevate hypertension risk

A recent study has found a significant association between psychosocial stressors at work from the job strain and effort-reward imbalance (ERI) models and a higher risk of hypertension.

Over 24 years, workers exposed to passive jobs (low psychological demands and low decision latitude; hazard ratio [HR], 1.19, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.05‒1.34), active jobs (high psychological demands and high decision latitude; HR, 1.23, 95 percent CI, 1.08‒1.40), and high strain (high psychological demands and low decision latitude; HR, 1.26, 95 percent CI, 1.11‒1.44) showed an elevated risk of hypertension.

Likewise, workers with exposure to active jobs (HR, 1.20, 95 percent CI, 1.03‒1.39), ERI (HR, 1.19, 95 percent CI, 1.06‒1.33), and both (HR, 1.34, 95 percent CI, 1.14‒1.56) over 18 years were at increased risk of hypertension.

A total of 9,188 white-collar workers recruited at T1 (1991‒1993), with follow-ups at T2 (1999‒2001) and T3 (2015‒2018), were included in the study.

Validated instruments were used to measure exposures to psychosocial stressors at work from the job strain (T1 and T2) and ERI (T2) models. Medico-administrative databases and automated office blood pressure measurements were used to identify incident hypertension cases.

The investigators estimated HRs using semi-parametric proportional hazards models. Their analyses included normotensive workers at baseline (n=6,732 over 24 years [T1 to T3] and n=4,516 over 18 years [T2 to T3]).