work-related stress Archives - Amazing Health Advances https://amazinghealthadvances.net/tag/work-related-stress/ Your hub for fresh-picked health and wellness info Mon, 16 Sep 2024 01:08:51 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.1 https://amazinghealthadvances.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/AHA_Gradient_Bowl-150x150.jpg work-related stress Archives - Amazing Health Advances https://amazinghealthadvances.net/tag/work-related-stress/ 32 32 Work-Related Stress Linked to Increased Risk of Future Sick Leave in Middle-Aged Women https://amazinghealthadvances.net/work-stress-linked-risk-of-future-sick-leave-in-middle-aged-women-8273/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=work-stress-linked-risk-of-future-sick-leave-in-middle-aged-women-8273 https://amazinghealthadvances.net/work-stress-linked-risk-of-future-sick-leave-in-middle-aged-women-8273/#respond Mon, 16 Sep 2024 09:08:18 +0000 https://amazinghealthadvances.net/?p=16255 University of Gothenburg via News-Medical – Middle-aged women who experience work-related stress have a significantly increased risk of future sick leave, a University of Gothenburg study shows. Lack of influence and conflicts at work are clear stress factors. The aim of the current study, published in the Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care, was to investigate whether work-related mental stress can be linked to sick leave among middle-aged women in the labor market. The data used in the study consists of information about 573 women of two different ages, 38 and 50, taken from the comprehensive Population Study of Women in Gothenburg, PSWG, at the University of Gothenburg. This was combined with register data on the women’s sick leave from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency. Job conflicts are a significant risk factor When the study began, the majority of the participants (504 women) were employed and in work. Three out of four experienced work-related or general mental stress, or both. During the following year, 16% had at least one instance of sick leave lasting for two weeks or more, and the sick leave patterns were clear. Of 21 specific work-related problems, job conflicts and a lack of influence over decisions at work were most clearly associated with sick leave. In terms of job conflicts, this applied whether or not the women themselves were involved. Women who had reported job conflicts were more than twice as likely (a factor of 2.31) to take sick leave during the follow-up year. After adjusting for general stress, previous sick leave, age, sleep quality, wellbeing, and physical activity, the risk remained twice as high (a factor of 1.98). A lack of empowerment was also accompanied by a significantly greater risk of sick leave (a factor of 1.71 after adjustments). The importance of a better work environment One of the main authors in the study is Kirsten Mehlig, Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Senior Lecturer in Health Science Statistics at Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg. “Little scope for decision-making and conflicts in the work environment can predict sick leave, independent of general mental stress and previous periods of sick leave,” she explains. “Improving the work environment is therefore important in order to reduce sick leave among women in the labor market.” The research team behind the study was led by Dominique Hange, Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer in General Medicine, and general practitioner at Närhälsan’s Tidan primary care center in Skövde. “Regardless of women’s own involvement, the effects of conflicts at work may also suggest a specific vulnerability among women that may be interesting to address in the future.” – Kirsten Mehlig, Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Senior Lecturer in Health Science Statistics at Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg Source: University of Gothenburg Journal reference: Mehlig, K., et al. (2024). Exploring the impact of mental and work-related stress on sick leave among middle-aged women: observations from the population study of women in Gothenburg, Sweden. Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care. doi.org/10.1080/02813432.2024.2380925. To read the original article click here.

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]]> https://amazinghealthadvances.net/work-stress-linked-risk-of-future-sick-leave-in-middle-aged-women-8273/feed/ 0 Job and Social Strain Associated with Higher Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Women https://amazinghealthadvances.net/job-and-social-strain-associated-with-higher-risk-of-coronary-heart-disease-in-women-7267/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=job-and-social-strain-associated-with-higher-risk-of-coronary-heart-disease-in-women-7267 https://amazinghealthadvances.net/job-and-social-strain-associated-with-higher-risk-of-coronary-heart-disease-in-women-7267/#respond Fri, 23 Apr 2021 07:00:50 +0000 https://amazinghealthadvances.net/?p=11346 Drexel University via News-Medical – Psychosocial stress – typically resulting from difficulty coping with challenging environments – may work synergistically to put women at significantly higher risk of developing coronary heart disease, according to a study by researchers at Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health, recently published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. The study specifically suggests that the effects of job strain and social strain — the negative aspect of social relationships — on women is a powerful one-two punch. Together they are associated with a 21% higher risk of developing coronary heart disease. Job strain occurs when a woman has inadequate power in the workplace to respond to the job’s demands and expectations. The study also found that high-stress life events, such as a spouse’s death, divorce/separation or physical or verbal abuse, as well as social strain, were each independently linked with a 12% and 9% higher risk of coronary heart disease, respectively. The Drexel study used data from a nationally representative sample of 80,825 postmenopausal women from the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study, which tracked participants from 1991 to 2015, to find better methods of preventing cancer, heart disease and osteoporosis in women. In the current follow-up study, Drexel researchers evaluated the effect of psychosocial stress from job strain, stressful life events and social strain (through a survey), and associations among these forms of stress, on coronary heart disease. Nearly 5% of the women developed coronary heart disease during the 14-year, seven-month study. Adjusting for age, time at a job, and socioeconomic characteristics, high-stress life events were associated with a 12% increased coronary heart disease risk, and high social strain was associated with a 9% increased risk of coronary heart disease. Work strain was not independently associated with coronary heart disease. Coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States, occurs with the heart’s arteries become narrow and cannot bring sufficient oxygenated blood to the heart. The latest work builds on earlier studies linking psychosocial stress to coronary heart disease by finding out how job strain and social strain work together to compound disease risk. “The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted ongoing stresses for women in balancing paid work and social stressors. We know from other studies that work strain may play a role in developing CHD, but now we can better pinpoint the combined impact of stress at work and at home on these poor health outcomes. My hope is that these findings are a call for better methods of monitoring stress in the workplace and remind us of the dual-burden working women face as a result of their unpaid work as caregivers at home.” (Yvonne Michael, ScD, SM, senior author, associate professor, Dornsife School of Public Health) The study’s authors say that future studies should look at the effects of shift work on coronary heart disease and explore the effects of job demands according to gender. “Our findings are a critical reminder to women, and those who care about them, that the threat of stress to human health should not go ignored,” said lead author Conglong Wang, PhD, a recent Dornsife graduate who conducted the research while at Drexel. “This is particularly pertinent during the stressors caused by a pandemic.” To read the original article click here.

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