Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• WINKLEBY, MARILYN ANN

Titel

OCCUPATIONAL STRESSORS AND HYPERTENSION: A STUDY OF SAN FRANCISCO BUS DRIVERS (CALIFORNIA)

Ort / Verlag

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

Erscheinungsjahr

1986

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• This study investigated the association between perceived frequency and severity of occupational stressors and blood pressure in a cross-sectional study of 1465 San Francisco bus drivers. Drivers who underwent biennial medical examinations for license renewal during the period of December 1983 to September 1985 were eligible for recruitment. The predictor variable consisted of an index of potential job stressors, based on the sum of the frequency and severity of 19 occupational problems. The primary outcome variable was hypertension, as defined by an elevated mean of two standardized blood pressure measurements and/or current use of antihypertensive medication. The results were in the opposite direction of those expected. An inverse association between the job stressor index and blood pressure was found which remained statistically significant after controlling for 12 potential confounding factors. In contrast to the inverse findings for blood pressure, highly significant positive associations were found between the job stressor index and gastrointestinal, respiratory and musculoskeletal problems. When the population was stratified by major demographic variables, all findings remained consistent; job stressor scores were lower among hypertensives than normotensives within each age, sex, race and educational subgroup. The opposite was found within each demographic subgroup for drivers possessing the three other health problems. When the stressor index was divided into quintiles (with the highest quintile reflecting the highest stressor scores), a gradient of disease prevalence was found where the prevalence of hypertension among those scoring in the highest quintile was 30 percent lower than those scoring in the lowest quintile. A gradient in the opposite direction was observed for the three other health problems. When the analysis was restricted to normotensives who were not on antihypertensive medication, the inverse association between job stressors and mean blood pressure continued to be seen. After a careful evaluation of potential bias, it appears that findings for blood pressure may be underestimated. The implications of these results for epidemiologic studies on the association between psychosocial stressors and hypertension are discussed in detail.