RESEARCH PAPER
Exposing women to workplace stress factors as a risk factor for developing arterial hypertension.
More details
Hide details
1
National Observatory for Health and Work Safety of Agricultural Workers, Institute of Rural Health, Lublin, Poland
2
Department of Pathology and Rehabilitation of Speech, Medical University in Lublin, Lublin, Poland
3
Lubuski College of Public Health, Zielona Góra, Poland
4
Institute of Rural Health, Lublin, Poland
Corresponding author
Iwona Bojar
National Observatory for Health and Work Safety of Agricultural Workers, Institute of Rural Health, Jaczewskiego 2, 20-090 Lublin, Poland.
Ann Agric Environ Med. 2011;18(1):175-182
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is the evaluation of women's exposure to stress-inducing factors at work, definition of a scale of the problem, as well as assessment of the impact of professional work on the value of arterial pressure. The research was conducted on four professional groups of women: working in agriculture, working as clerks, seamstresses, as well as those working as medical representative in the period from August- September 2008 in the Lublin region. A total number of 416 women was examined, ages ranging from 30-40, who had not been previously treated due to arterial hypertension. The women under examination had their arterial blood pressure measured twice on a working day at 08:00 and at 14:00. The values of measurements were averaged. The research tool was also the standardised Questionnaire for Subjective Work Evaluation. The raw result was obtained on the basis of summing up all the points, which were afterwards transformed into 10 standard values. The general result was given in 10 standard values, whereas the results of stress factors were quoted as mean results of raw values and were referred to results defined as high for a given factor. The results obtained were statistically analysed on the basis of t-Student test. The significance level adopted was p<0.05. The results obtained in a particular professional group were compared as well as the impact of socio-demographic variables, such as level of education, marital status, place of residence, on the intensification of stress related to a particular factor of work evaluation, was also analysed. Stress experienced by women at a workplace affects not ony their professional life, but also family life and social intercourses. In the women's opinion, an unpleasant workplace is such a workplace where the feeling of mental workload is connected with the lack of rewards (motivation), uncertainty resulting from organisation of daily chores and lack of support from others. The high general level of stress was noted among the group of women working in agriculture, in pharmaceutical companies, as well as among those who perform physical work (seamstresses). The intensification of stress at a workplace had a considerable impact on the value of arterial pressure among the group of woman medical representatives, as well as among the group of woman office workers. No significant dependencies were concluded between socio-demographic variables and the general level of exposure to intensified stress in the examined professional groups. The above research confirms the need for further examination of the working environment of women and its impact on health. Obviously, attempts should be made in order to improve the conditions of work for women, bearing in mind the fact that the adoption of neutral attitude towards the sexes when assessing risk and undertaking preventive activities may result in the female gender being underestimated or even disregarded.
REFERENCES (44)
1.
Adapting to change in work and society: A new Community strategy on health and safety at work, 2002–06. Communiqué of European Union, COM (2002).
2.
AHA Scientifi c Sessions, Chicago 2002.
3.
Alves MGM, Faerstein E, Werneck GL, Lopes CS: Job strain and hypertension in women: Estudo Pro-Saude (Pro-Health Study). Rev Sau-de Publica 2009, 43, 1–4.
4.
Analyzing and Anticipating Change to Support Socio-Economic Progress, Four Year Rolling Programe 2001–2004. European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Dublin 2000.
5.
Arafa MA, Amine T, Abel Fattah M: Association of maternal work with adverse prenatal outcome. Can J Public Health 2007, 98, 217–221.
6.
Belkic KL, Landsbergis PA, Schnall PL, Baker D: Is job strain a major source of cardiovascular disease risk? Scand J Work Environ Health 2004, 30, 85–128.
7.
Brisson C: Women, work and cardiovascular disease. Occup Med State Art Rev 2000, 15, 49–57.
8.
Bugajska J, Makowiec-Dąbrowska T, Lewandowski Z: Poziom ogólnej wydolności fizycznej oraz stresu zawodowego a zdolność do pracy u aktywnych zawodowo osób w Polsce. Ann Acad Med Siles 2006, 60(Suppl. 95), 127–131.
9.
Carroll D, Smith G: Blood pressure reactions to acute psychological stress and future blood pressure status. Psychosom Med 2001, 63, 744-746.
10.
Caruso C, Hitchcock EM, Dick RB, Russo JM, Schmit JM: Over-time and Extender Work Shifts: Recent Findings on Illnesses, Injuries and Health Behaviors. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH 2004.
11.
Cesana G, Sega R, Ferrario M, Chiodini P, Corrao G, Mancia G: Job Strain and Blood Pressure in Employed Men and Women: A Pooled Analysis of Four Northern Italian Population Samples. Psychosom Med 2003, 65, 558–563.
12.
Drabek M: Poziom narażenia na stres pochodzenia zawodowego w zakładach pracy. In: Seminarium Okręgowego Inspektoratu Pracy w Łodzi „Stres w pracy” – 15 November 2006.
13.
Emerging Thematic Priorities for research in Europe, Working Paper, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, Seville, 4 December 2000. Available from: priorities.jrc.es/.
14.
Erlandsson LK, Eklund M: Women’s experiences of hassles and uplifts in their everybody patterns of occupations. Occup Ther Int 2003, 10, 95–114.
15.
Future Occupational Safety and Health Research Needs and Priorities in the Member States of the European Union. European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Bilbao 2000.
16.
Gender Issues in Safety and Health at Work. European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2003.
17.
Grabowski P: Stres w miejscu pracy – kosztowny i niebezpieczny. Antidotum 2002, 12, 41–45.
18.
Greiner BA, Krause N, Ragland D, Fisher JM: Occupational stressors and hypertension: a multi-method study using observer-based job analysis and self-reports in urban transit operators. Soc Sci Med 2004, 59, 1081–1094.
19.
Guimont C, Brisson C, Dagenais GR, Milot A, Vezina M, Masse B, Moisan J, Laflamme N, Blanchette C: Effect of job strain on blood pressure: a prospective study of male and female white-collar workers. Am J Publ Health 2006, 98, 1436–1443.
20.
Harma M: Are long work hours a health risk? Scand J Work Environ Health 2003, 29, 167–169.
21.
Landsbergis P: Long work hours, hypertensions, and cardiovascular disease. Cad Saude Publica 2004, 20, 1746–1748.
22.
Landsbergis PA, Schnall PL, Pickering TG, Warren K, Schwartz JE: Lower socioeconomic status among men in relation to the association between job strain and blood pressure. Scand J Work Environ Health 2003, 29, 206–215.
23.
Lisowska B: Rotacja na stanowiskach przedstawicieli medycznych. Puls Med 2008, 2, 165.
24.
Mazurkiewicz M: Style radzenia sobie w sytuacji trudnej u kobiet i mężczyzn. Sztuka Leczenia 1998, 4, 49–54.
25.
Nakanishi N, Yoshida H: Long working hours and risk for hypertension in Japanese male white collar workers. J Epidemiol Community Health 2001, 55, 316–322.
26.
Nowicka M, Kolasa W: W obliczu agresywnego petenta - konsekwencje psychologiczne dla pracowników. Med Pr 2001, 52, 1-5.
27.
Official Journal of the European Communities, C 51/33, 23.2.2000.
28.
Ohlin B, Berglund G, Nilsson PM, Melander O: Job strain, decision latitude and alpha 2B-adrenergic receptor polymorphism significantly interact, and associate with higher blood pressures in men. J Hypertens 2007, 25, 1613–1619.
29.
Radi S, Lang T, Lauwers-Cances V, Diene E, Chatellier G, Larabi L, De Gaudemaris R: Job constrains and arterial hypertension: different effects in men and women: the IHPAF II case control study. Occup Environ Med 2005, 62, 711–717.
30.
Saab P, Llabre M: Cardiovascular responsivity to stress in adolescents with and without persistently elevated blood pressure. J Hypertens 2001, 19, 21–27.
31.
Sprawozdanie Głównego Inspektora Pracy z działalności Państwowej Inspekcji Pracy w 2006 roku. Warsaw 2006.
32.
Steptoe A, Willemsen G: The influence of low job control on ambulatory blood pressure and perceived stress over the working day in men and women from the Whitehall II cohort. J Hypertens 2004, 22, 915–920.
33.
Steward J, France C: Cardiovascular recovery from stress predicts longitudinal changes in blood pressure. Biol Psychol 2001, 58, 105–120.
34.
Studenski R: Organizacja Bezpiecznej Pracy w Przedsiębiorstwie. Politechnika Śląska, Gliwice 1996.
35.
Tackling stress: Management standards approach. Health & Safe-ty Executive (HSE). London 2005.
36.
Teisseyre A: Nowe spojrzenie na stres. Available from: eksperci.nf.pl/artykuly/artykul_5845.htm.
37.
Tsutsami A, Kayaba K, Tsutsami K, Igarashi M: Association between job strain and prevalence of hypertension: a cross sectional analysis in a Japanese working population with a wide range of occupations: the Jichi Medical School cohort study. Occup Environ Med 2001, 58, 367–373.
38.
Tsutsami A, Kayaba K: Association between job strain and prevalence of hypertension: a cross sectional analysis in Japanese working population. Occup Environ Med 2001, 58, 367–382.
39.
van der Hulst M: Long work hours and health. Scand J Work Environ Health 2003, 29, 171–188.
40.
Wagener DK, Walstedt J, Jenkins L, Burnett C, Lalich N, Fingerhut M: Women: work and Heath. Vital Heath Stat 3 1997, 31, 1–91.
41.
Wytyczne do programu informacyjnego skierowanego do Pracodawców: Przeciwdziałanie negatywnym skutkom przeciążenia psychicznego i stresu zawodowego w miejscu pracy. Departament Prewencji Głównego Inspektoratu Pracy w Warszawie, Warsaw 2006.
42.
Yang H, Schnall PL, Jauregui M, Su T-Ch, Baker D: Work hours and self-reported hypertension among working people in California. Hypertension 2006, 48, 744–750.
43.
Yu SF, Zhou WH, Jiang KY, Gu GZ, Wang S: Job stress, gene polymorphism of beta2-AR, and prevalence of hypertension. Biomed Environ Sci 2008, 21, 239–246.
44.
Zeytinogla IU, Seaton MB, Lillevik W, Moruz J: Working in the margins women’s experiences of stress and occupational heath problems in part-time and casual retail jobs. Women Health 2005, 41, 87–107.