| 1. |
- Heikkilä, Katriina, et al.
(författare)
-
Job strain and COPD exacerbations: an individual-participant meta-analysis
- 2014
-
Ingår i: European Respiratory Journal. - : European Respiratory Society (ERS). - 0903-1936 .- 1399-3003. ; 44:1, s. 247-251
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To the Editor:Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of mortality and disability worldwide (1). The clinical course of COPD is characterised by exacerbations, which can be minor and manageable at home or in primary care, or severe, leading to hospitalisation or even death. Known causes of exacerbations include tobacco smoke, air pollution, dusts and fumes, and respiratory infections (1, 2). One less well understood risk factor is stress, which could plausibly lead to COPD exacerbations as it can trigger inflammation (3, 4) and is associated with increased smoking (5), which are both implicated in COPD pathology (2). Work is an important source of stress in the age groups in which COPD is typically diagnosed (1, 6). However, we are not aware of previous investigations of work-related stress and the risk of COPD exacerbations.In this study, we examined the associations between job strain (the most widely studied conceptualisation of work-related stress) and severe COPD exacerbations using individual-level data from 10 prospective cohort studies from the Individual Participant Data Meta-analysis in Working Populations (IPD-Work) Consortium (7). Job strain is defined as a combination of high demands (excessive amounts of work) and low control (having little influence on what tasks to.
|
|
| 2. |
- Lindegård, Agneta, et al.
(författare)
-
Perceived exertion, comfort and working technique in professional computer users and associations with the incidence of neck and upper extremity symptoms.
- 2012
-
Ingår i: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders. - London : BioMed Central. - 1471-2474. ; 13, s. 38-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate whether perceived exertion, perceived comfort and working technique is associated with the incidence of neck and upper extremity symptoms among professional computer users. METHODS: At baseline a self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 853 participants from 46 different work sites (382 men and 471 women) who, at baseline, had been free from neck and upper extremity symptoms during the preceding month. Work-related exposures, individual factors, and symptoms from the neck and upper extremities were assessed. Observations of working technique were performed by ergonomists using an ergonomic checklist. Incidence data were collected by means of 10 monthly questionnaires, asking for information on the occurrence of neck, shoulder and arm/hand symptoms. Perceived exertion was rated on a modified Borg RPE scale ranging from 0 (very, very light) to 14 (very, very strenuous). Perceived comfort was rated on a 9-point scale ranging from -4 (very, very poor) to +4 (very, very good) in relation to the chair, computer screen, keyboard, and computer mouse. RESULTS: The median follow up time was 10.3 months. The incidence of symptoms from the neck, shoulders and arm/hands were 50, 24 and 34 cases per 100 person years, respectively.Higher perceived exertion in the neck, shoulder or arm/hands was associated with an increased risk of developing symptoms in the corresponding body region. Moreover, a dose-response relationship between the level of exertion and the risk of developing symptoms was recorded for all three regions. There was an association between low comfort and an increased risk for neck symptoms, but not for shoulder and arm/hand symptoms, although a trend towards such an association (not statistically significant) could be seen. Working technique was, in this study, not associated with the risk of developing symptoms in any of the investigated body regions. CONCLUSION: There was a strong association between high perceived exertion and the development of neck, shoulder, and arm/hand symptoms. Moreover, there was an association between poor perceived comfort and neck pain. Surveillance of computer users may include perceived exertion and comfort to target individuals at risk for neck and upper extremity symptoms.
|
|
| 3. |
- Kivimäki, Mika, et al.
(författare)
-
Associations of job strain and lifestyle risk factors with risk of coronary artery disease : a meta-analysis of individual participant data
- 2013
-
Ingår i: CMJA. Canadian Medical Association Journal. Onlineutg. Med tittel. - : CMA Joule Inc.. - 0820-3946 .- 1488-2329. ; 185:9, s. 763-769
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: It is unclear whether a healthy lifestyle mitigates the adverse effects of job strain on coronary artery disease. We examined the associations of job strain and lifestyle risk factors with the risk of coronary artery disease.Methods: We pooled individual-level data from 7 cohort studies comprising 102 128 men and women who were free of existing coronary artery disease at baseline (1985–2000). Questionnaires were used to measure job strain (yes v. no) and 4 lifestyle risk factors: current smoking, physical inactivity, heavy drinking and obesity. We grouped participants into 3 lifestyle categories: healthy (no lifestyle risk factors), moderately unhealthy (1 risk factor) and unhealthy (2–4 risk factors). The primary outcome was incident coronary artery disease (defined as first nonfatal myocardial infarction or cardiac-related death).Results: There were 1086 incident events in 743 948 person-years at risk during a mean follow-up of 7.3 years. The risk of coronary artery disease among people who had an unhealthy lifestyle compared with those who had a healthy lifestyle (hazard ratio [HR] 2.55, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.18–2.98; population attributable risk 26.4%) was higher than the risk among participants who had job strain compared with those who had no job strain (HR 1.25, 95% CI 1.06–1.47; population attributable risk 3.8%). The 10-year incidence of coronary artery disease among participants with job strain and a healthy lifestyle (14.7 per 1000) was 53% lower than the incidence among those with job strain and an unhealthy lifestyle (31.2 per 1000).Interpretation: The risk of coronary artery disease was highest among participants who reported job strain and an unhealthy lifestyle; those with job strain and a healthy lifestyle had half the rate of disease. A healthy lifestyle may substantially reduce disease risk among people with job strain.
|
|
| 4. |
- Almquist, Ylva B., 1983-, et al.
(författare)
-
Peer acceptance in the school class and subjective health complaints : a multilevel approach
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Journal of School Health. - : Wiley. - 0022-4391 .- 1746-1561. ; 83:10, s. 690-696
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Feeling accepted by peers is important for young people's health but few studies have examined the overall degree of acceptance in school and its health consequences. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether health complaints among Swedish students can be attributed to the acceptance climate in their school class even when the health effects of their own (individual) acceptance score have been taken into account. METHODS: The data used were from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study for the years 2001 to 2002, 2005 to 2006, and 2009 to 2010, consisting of 13,902 5th-, 7th-, and 9th-grade Swedish students nested into 742 school classes. The statistical analyses were performed by means of linear regression multilevel analysis. RESULTS: The results indicated that the variation in subjective health complaints could be ascribed partly to the school-class level (boys: 5.0%; girls: 13.5%). Peer acceptance at the individual level demonstrated a clear association with health: the lower the acceptance, the higher the complaint scores. For girls, but not for boys, the overall degree of peer acceptance in the school class demonstrated a contextual effect on health, net of acceptance at the student level. Interaction analyses also revealed an increasingly favorable health among poorly accepted girls as the acceptance climate in the school class declined. CONCLUSIONS: A lower overall degree of peer acceptance in the school class is associated with poorer health among girls. However, girls who
|
|
| 5. |
- Hjalmarsson Österholm, Johannes, et al.
(författare)
-
Factors of importance for maintaining work as perceived by men with arthritis
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Work. - : IOS PRESS. - 1051-9815 .- 1875-9270. ; 45:4, s. 439-448
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: Employment rates are significantly lower among individuals with arthritis compared to a general population. There is, however, limited research about how men with arthritis perceive their ability to maintain working. The aim of this study was thus to explore their perception of this.PARTICIPANTS: Nine employed men with arthritis were purposively sampled.METHODS: Interviews were performed and were informed by the central concepts of the Model of Human Occupation. The Empirical Phenomenological Psychological method was modified and used to analyze and interpret collected data.RESULTS: The findings showed that men with arthritis perceived a desire to work, adjusted their activity pattern, were aware of their own capabilities, had good work conditions, had environmental support and used effective medication to maintain their ability to work.CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that health care professionals can help men with arthritis to find strategies and a balance between recreation and work. Ultimately, this knowledge could guide health care professionals to target men needing interventions to prevent sick leave.
|
|
| 6. |
|
|
| 7. |
- Falkenberg, Helena, et al.
(författare)
-
Short- and long-term effects of major organisational change on minor psychiatric disorder and self-rated health : Results from the Whitehall II study
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Occupational and Environmental Medicine. - : BMJ. - 1351-0711 .- 1470-7926. ; 70:10, s. 688-696
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective To investigate short- and long-term effects of major organisational change on minor psychiatric disorder and self-rated health for women and men in different employment grades.Methods Minor psychiatric disorder and self-rated health among 6710 British civil servants (1993 women and 4717 men) in three employment grades from the Whitehall II study were examined from 1985 to 1988 under stable employment conditions. The short-term effects of organisational change were investigated in 1991–1993 after a time of major restructuring aiming at increasing the influence of market forces in the civil service and the long-term effects were investigated in 1997–1999.Results Those who had experienced organisational change and those who anticipated organisational change reported more negative short-term health effects (minor psychiatric disorder and poor self-rated health) compared with those who reported no change. No major differences were found depending on employment grade or gender. The negative health effects had diminished during 1997–1999 for those who reported that a major change had happened before 1991–1993. Those who anticipated an organisational change in 1991–1993 still reported more ill-health in 1997–1999 (both minor psychiatric disorder and self-reported health) than those in the comparison group.Conclusions The results indicate that organisational change affects employees’ health negatively in the short term but also that it is possible to recover from such negative effects. As it was not possible to discern any definite difference between the gender and grades, the results point at the importance of working proactively to implement organisational change for women and men at all levels.
|
|
| 8. |
|
|
| 9. |
- Fransson, Eleonor, 1971-, et al.
(författare)
-
Comparison of alternative versions of the job demand-control scales in 17 European cohort studies : the IPD-Work consortium
- 2012
-
Ingår i: BMC Public Health. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2458. ; 12, s. 62-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Job strain (i.e., high job demands combined with low job control) is a frequently used indicator of harmful work stress, but studies have often used partial versions of the complete multi-item job demands and control scales. Understanding whether the different instruments assess the same underlying concepts has crucial implications for the interpretation of findings across studies, harmonisation of multi-cohort data for pooled analyses, and design of future studies. As part of the 'IPD-Work' (Individual-participant-data meta-analysis in working populations) consortium, we compared different versions of the demands and control scales available in 17 European cohort studies. Methods: Six of the 17 studies had information on the complete scales and 11 on partial scales. Here, we analyse individual level data from 70 751 participants of the studies which had complete scales (5 demand items, 6 job control items). Results: We found high Pearson correlation coefficients between complete scales of job demands and control relative to scales with at least three items (r > 0.90) and for partial scales with two items only (r = 0.76-0.88). In comparison with scores from the complete scales, the agreement between job strain definitions was very good when only one item was missing in either the demands or the control scale (kappa > 0.80); good for job strain assessed with three demand items and all six control items (kappa > 0.68) and moderate to good when items were missing from both scales (kappa = 0.54-0.76). The sensitivity was > 0.80 when only one item was missing from either scale, decreasing when several items were missing in one or both job strain subscales. Conclusions: Partial job demand and job control scales with at least half of the items of the complete scales, and job strain indices based on one complete and one partial scale, seemed to assess the same underlying concepts as the complete survey instruments.
|
|
| 10. |
- Heikkila, Katriina, et al.
(författare)
-
Job Strain and Alcohol Intake : A Collaborative Meta-Analysis of Individual-Participant Data from 140 000 Men and Women
- 2012
-
Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 7:7, s. Art. no. e40101-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The relationship between work-related stress and alcohol intake is uncertain. In order to add to the thus far inconsistent evidence from relatively small studies, we conducted individual-participant meta-analyses of the association between work-related stress (operationalised as self-reported job strain) and alcohol intake. Methodology and Principal Findings: We analysed cross-sectional data from 12 European studies (n = 142 140) and longitudinal data from four studies (n = 48 646). Job strain and alcohol intake were self-reported. Job strain was analysed as a binary variable (strain vs. no strain). Alcohol intake was harmonised into the following categories: none, moderate (women: 1-14, men: 1-21 drinks/week), intermediate (women: 15-20, men: 22-27 drinks/week) and heavy (women: > 20, men: > 27 drinks/week). Cross-sectional associations were modelled using logistic regression and the results pooled in random effects meta-analyses. Longitudinal associations were examined using mixed effects logistic and modified Poisson regression. Compared to moderate drinkers, non-drinkers and (random effects odds ratio (OR): 1.10, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.14) and heavy drinkers (OR: 1.12, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.26) had higher odds of job strain. Intermediate drinkers, on the other hand, had lower odds of job strain (OR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.86, 0.99). We found no clear evidence for longitudinal associations between job strain and alcohol intake. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that compared to moderate drinkers, non-drinkers and heavy drinkers are more likely and intermediate drinkers less likely to report work-related stress.
|
|
