Association of Job Strain With Cortisol and Alpha-Amylase Among Shift-Working Health Care Professionals in Laboratory and Field

Karhula, Kati; Härmä, Mikko; Sallinen, Mikael; Lindholm, Harri; Hirvonen, Ari; Elovainio, Marko; Kivimäki, Mika; Vahtera, Jussi; Puttonen, Sampsa

doi:10.1177/1099800415577801

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 51 publications

(82 reference statements)

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“…A further study found cardiovascular reactivity was positively associated with job strain in a group of workers with a mean age 51.9 years, and was higher among those over 50 (Clays et al, 2007). Equally, work-related stress has also been associated with higher cortisol reactivity (Hausser et al 2011;Karhula et al 2016;Steptoe et al 2000). However, current evidence suggests that the relationship between work and stress reactivity is complex (Rudolph et al 2016) and the majority of studies have not measured or found consistent results for both cardiovascular and cortisol responses to acute stress, or have not measured resilience.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Resilience, work engagement and stress reactivity in a middle-aged manual worker population

Black

Balanos

Whittaker

2017

International Journal of Psychophysiology

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Work stress is a growing problem in Europe. Together, the negative physiological effect of stress on health, and increasing age increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease in those aged over 50years. Therefore, identifying older workers who may be at risk of work-related stress, and its physiological effects, is key to promoting their health and wellbeing in the workforce. The present study examined the relationship between perceived psychological resilience and work-related factors (work engagement and presenteeism) and the physiological response to acute psychological stress in older manual workers in the UK. Thirty-one participants, mean (SD) age 54.9 (3.78)years reported perceived levels of resilience, work engagement, and presenteeism using standardized questionnaires. Cardiovascular measurements (heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) and salivary cortisol were used to assess their physiological response to an acute psychological stress task. Resilience was not associated with work-related factors or reactivity. However, workers with higher work engagement showed lower SBP (p=0.02) and HR (p=0.001) reactivity than those with lower work engagement. Further, those with higher sickness presenteeism also had higher HR reactivity (p=0.03). This suggests a potential pathway by which higher work stress might contribute to the risk of future cardiovascular disease.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Resilience, work engagement and stress reactivity in a middle-aged manual worker population

Black

Balanos

Whittaker

2017

International Journal of Psychophysiology

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“…The LJS group participants were physically active more often than the HJS group participants (p < .02). The descriptive statistics are shown in Table 1, and have been previously published by Karhula et al [24,29] Statistical analysis A logarithmic transformation of the stress biomarker original values was used due to skewed distributions. The area under the curve with respect to ground (AUCg, nmol/l × min) and the area under the curve with respect to increase (AUCi, nmol/l × min) [31] were calculated for logarithmic transformed stress biomarkers assuming linearity between the consecutive measurement points (Figure 1).…”

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The mean saliva sample collection times were during the morning shift measurements on average at 05:27 (AW), 05:57 (AW30), and 22:36 in the evening, during the night shift measurements at 08:08 (AW), 08:41 (AW30), and 08:06 the next morning before going to sleep, and during the day of measurements at 07:56 (AW), 08:21 (AW30), and 21:34 in the evening. The AW and AW30 samples were collected on average 6 and 35 min after sleep end (determined from actigraph data) in the morning shift, 8 and 38 min after sleep end in the night shift, and 6and 35 min after sleep end on the day off [29].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase: Is there consistency between psychosocial stress test and burdensome work shifts?

Karhula

Härmä

Sallinen

et al. 2017

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene

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This study examined the consistency of salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase (sAA) total daily secretion between laboratory and field circumstances. The 95 participants were shift working female health care professionals with high (n = 53) or low (n = 42) psychosocial stress (job strain) measured by the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ). The Trier Social Stress Test including a 5-min free speech and a mental arithmetic task was conducted with four, and field measurements with three daily saliva samples of cortisol and sAA during circadian rhythm and inter-shift recovery controlled morning shift, night shift, and a day off. The associations of salivary cortisol and sAA area under the curve with respect to ground (AUCg) and area under the curve with respect to increase (AUCi) between laboratory and field were tested using OLS (Ordinary Least Squares) regression. The sAA AUCg output in the laboratory was correlated with the output during all field measurement days and similarly among high and low job strain groups (p < 0.001). SAA AUCi and salivary cortisol AUCg and AUCi were not correlated between laboratory and field measurement, neither in the whole sample nor among the low or high job strain group. In conclusion, a laboratory measure of sAA AUCg output is promising in predicting stress-related output during burdensome work shifts and leisure time, whereas sAA AUCi or salivary cortisol seem not to have this potential.

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“…Stress biomarkers aid in detecting early signs of developing negative health outcomes. [25] Cortisol hormone is a biomarker released in response to stress that is considered to be an objective measurement. [26] Under stress, activation of the HPA axis releases hormones that signal the adrenal cortex to produce cortisol.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress and cortisol as predictors of fatigue in medical/surgical nurses and nurse leaders: A biobehavioral approach

Cockerham¹,

Kang²,

Howe³

et al. 2017

JNEP

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Objective: High acuity and long work hours are significant contributors to nurses’ stress. Studies evaluating consecutive workdays with the use of biobehavioral methods are limited in the US. The aim of this study was to assess changes in and the relationship between stress, fatigue, and cortisol.Methods: In an observational within-subject design, we studied stress, fatigue and cortisol before and after 2 consecutive 12-hour day shifts in an acute care setting. Specifically, the study was designed to: (1) assess the effect of stress on fatigue; (2) examine the effect of stress on cortisol; (3) compare the levels of stress, fatigue, and cortisol; and (4) compare the responses of stress, fatigue, and cortisol between acute care, day shift staff nurses and nurse leaders.Results: Stress, fatigue, and cortisol increased significantly from baseline to Day 2 (p = .001, .004, and .010, respectively; paired t-test). In a comparison of nurses and nurse leaders, stress and fatigue at baseline were significantly higher in acute care nurses than in nurse leaders (p ≥ .00 and .05, respectively; independent t-test). At the end of 2 consecutive shifts, cortisol was significantly higher in staff nurses than in nurse leaders (p = .001).Conclusions: Competing initiatives pressure nurse leaders to work long hours to support organizational goals, sometimes at the expense of a healthy work environment. Nurses from direct care staff to executives should be educated in and demonstrate best practices in relation to endorsements from the American Nurses Association on fatigue and interventions to lessen the risks to patient safety.

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Association of Job Strain With Cortisol and Alpha-Amylase Among Shift-Working Health Care Professionals in Laboratory and Field

Cited by 14 publications

References 51 publications

Resilience, work engagement and stress reactivity in a middle-aged manual worker population

Resilience, work engagement and stress reactivity in a middle-aged manual worker population

Salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase: Is there consistency between psychosocial stress test and burdensome work shifts?

Stress and cortisol as predictors of fatigue in medical/surgical nurses and nurse leaders: A biobehavioral approach

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