Women in jobs with high demands, low control and low social support are at the greatest risk of ill health according to a paper in this week's BMJ.
The study assessed the impact of job strain on the health of 21,290 female nurses in the United States using a series of questionnaires. Personal characteristics, job content and health status were scored and compared over a four-year period. The results show that women in the highest third of job demands and the lowest third of job control (high strain job) had the worst health status, whereas those in jobs with the highest control and lowest demands (low strain job) had the best health status. A lower level of social support also contributed to a decline in health. Furthermore, these associations could not be explained by a number of other factors including age, smoking status or education level.
Strikingly, this study reveals that the declines in health associated with job strain are as large as those associated with smoking and sedentary lifestyles. The authors conclude that current solutions to reduce job stress, such as relaxation therapy, "target individuals rather than their social environment and tend to deal with symptoms instead of causes." These new findings, therefore, have major implications for future health promotion strategies within hospitals.
Association between psychosocial work characteristics and health functioning in American women: prospective study
Contact:
I Kawachi, Director, Harvard Center for Society and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston MA 02115, USA Email: Ichiro.Kawachi@channing.harvard.edu