No abstract

This study, as a part of a large European study (11 participating countries), examines the relationship between job stress and different wellness/health outcomes among male and female secondary school teachers in Belgium (n ¼ 128). The associations between high job demands, low control, low social support, interaction terms and additional job stressors on one hand, and burnout (3 sub-scales), somatic complaints and job satisfaction on the other hand, were tested. Especially high demands were associated with burnout, more precisely its emotional exhaustion dimension. No evidence was found for the buffer hypothesis, according to which control and social support would buffer the adverse demand-effects. Among the additional job stressors and moderators, mainly physical exertion and meaningfulness of work were related to the outcomes. Belgian teachers reported higher physical exertion, job demands, somatic complaints and lower job control, social support, personal accomplishment than the teachers from the other European countries did.

Within this study, high job strain was an important independent risk factor for higher ambulatory blood pressure at work, at home, and during sleep in a group of men and women.

In a prospective study of the association between self-reported diabetes mellitus and sick leave from work, 21,149 men and women, aged 35-59 years, participated. Prevalence of diabetes was obtained by questionnaire. Sick leave was prospectively obtained from departments of human resources in the year after the baseline survey. Outcome variables related to duration of sick leave, repetitive absences, and long absences of at least seven consecutive days. In gender-specific multivariate analyses the relation between diabetes and sick leave was studied independent of age, body mass index, physical activity, alcohol intake, education, job title, and smoking habit. Prevalence rates of self reported diabetes were 2.8% and 2.2% in men and women, respectively. For each outcome variable a significant association between diabetes and sick leave was observed. Significant associations were found between diabetes and duration of sick leave and repetitive absences in men. In women a similar trend was observed for duration, and a significant association was found for repetitive absences.

Based on the results of this study, psychosocial factors (both work and nonwork-related) constitute nonnegligible risks for the development of LBP.