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Published in: International Journal of Behavioral Medicine 4/2013

01-12-2013

Work Stress is Associated with Diabetes and Prediabetes: Cross-Sectional Results from the MIPH Industrial Cohort Studies

Authors: Jian Li, Marc N. Jarczok, Adrian Loerbroks, Ina Schöllgen, Johannes Siegrist, Jos A. Bosch, Mark G. Wilson, Daniel Mauss, Joachim E. Fischer

Published in: International Journal of Behavioral Medicine | Issue 4/2013

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Abstract

Background

Diabetes is rapidly rising globally, and the relation of psychosocial stress in workplace to diabetes and prediabetes is not well investigated.

Purpose

The aim of the study was to examine the association of work stress with diabetes and prediabetes in a sample of German industrial workers.

Method

In this cross-sectional survey of an occupational cohort (n = 2,674, 77 % male), work stress was measured by the Effort–Reward Imbalance (ERI) Questionnaire. Diabetic status, i.e., diabetes and prediabetes, were diagnosed by glycated hemoglobin A1c criterion or fasting plasma glucose criterion supplemented by self-reports.

Results

The overall prevalence rates of diabetes and prediabetes were 3.5 and 42.2 %, respectively. Using ordinal logistic regression with adjustment for potential confounding factors, high ERI at work was associated with diabetes-related ordinal variable (odds ratio [OR], 1.27; 95 % confidence interval [95 % CI], 1.02–1.58) and prediabetes-related ordinal variable (OR, 1.26; 95 % CI, 1.01–1.58) in men, whereas the associations in women were somewhat less pronounced and did not reach statistical significance.

Conclusion

The findings indicate that work stress in terms of ERI is associated with diabetes and prediabetes in German industrial male workers. If supported by prospective evidence, results point to a new approach towards primary prevention of diabetes.
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Metadata
Title
Work Stress is Associated with Diabetes and Prediabetes: Cross-Sectional Results from the MIPH Industrial Cohort Studies
Authors
Jian Li
Marc N. Jarczok
Adrian Loerbroks
Ina Schöllgen
Johannes Siegrist
Jos A. Bosch
Mark G. Wilson
Daniel Mauss
Joachim E. Fischer
Publication date
01-12-2013
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
International Journal of Behavioral Medicine / Issue 4/2013
Print ISSN: 1070-5503
Electronic ISSN: 1532-7558
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-012-9255-0

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