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Published in: International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health 8/2015

01-11-2015 | Original Article

Relationship between work strain, need for recovery after work and cumulative cortisol among kindergarten teachers

Authors: Xingliang Qi, Yapeng Liu, Jing Zhang, Shuang Ji, Judith K. Sluiter, Renlai Zhou, Huihua Deng

Published in: International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health | Issue 8/2015

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Abstract

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to explore whether work strain (i.e., job demands and job control) and subjective need for recovery (NFR) after work are related to measured concentration of cumulative cortisol.

Methods

Participants were 43 teachers recruited from kindergarten. They self-reported their NFR, job demands and job control over the last month. NFR was measured with the NFR scale. Job demands and control were assessed with the Chinese version of the Job Content Questionnaire. Hair cortisol was used to represent cumulative cortisol excretion. Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) was measured with high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry.

Results

No significant correlations were found between job demands or job control and HCC. NFR was significantly and inversely correlated with HCC (r = −0.41, p = 0.006). The inverse association between NFR and HCC remained significant when age and job demands and job control were controlled for (p = 0.02).

Conclusions

The activity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis declines with the accumulation of NFR after working time.
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Metadata
Title
Relationship between work strain, need for recovery after work and cumulative cortisol among kindergarten teachers
Authors
Xingliang Qi
Yapeng Liu
Jing Zhang
Shuang Ji
Judith K. Sluiter
Renlai Zhou
Huihua Deng
Publication date
01-11-2015
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health / Issue 8/2015
Print ISSN: 0340-0131
Electronic ISSN: 1432-1246
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-015-1033-2

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