International Journal of Epidemiology 2002;31:1147-1153
© International Epidemiological Association 2002
Special Theme: Psychosocial |
A prospective study of job strain and coronary heart disease in US women
a Departments of Health and Social Behavior, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
b Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
c Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
d Harvard Center for Cancer Prevention, Boston, MA, USA.
e Harvard Center for Society and Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Correspondence: Ichiro Kawachi, Department of Health and Social Behavior, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA. E-mail: ichiro.kawachi{at}channing.harvard.edu
Abstract
Background Previous studies of job strain and coronary heart disease (CHD) in men have established job strain as a predictor of CHD risk. Despite the wealth of convincing evidence in men for an association between job strain and CHD, data in women remain sparse.
Methods We prospectively evaluated the relation between job strain and CHD risk in the Nurses’ Health Study. In this analysis, we followed a sample of 35 038 US female nurses aged 46–71 years, who completed questions about job strain in 1992 and who were free of diagnosed CHD, stroke, and cancer at baseline. The main outcome measure was the incidence of CHD occurring between baseline (1 June 1992) and 31 May 1996.
Results During 4 years of follow-up, we documented 146 incident cases of CHD (108 non-fatal cases of myocardial infarction and 38 CHD deaths). No evidence was found for a relationship between job strain and risk of CHD. In multivariate analyses controlling for age, smoking, alcohol intake, body mass index, history of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and other covariates, women in high strain jobs did not have an increased risk of CHD (relative risk [RR] = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.42–1.19) compared with women in low strain jobs. Neither women in passive jobs (RR = 1.08, 95% CI: 0.69–1.68) nor those in active jobs (RR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.54–1.53) had an increased risk of CHD.
Conclusions Job strain was not related to an increase in the incidence of CHD in the present cohort of nurses.
Keywords Job strain, coronary heart disease, prospective study, work organization, women
Accepted 17 January 2002
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  M Kivimaki, T Theorell, H Westerlund, J Vahtera, and L Alfredsson Job strain and ischaemic disease: does the inclusion of older employees in the cohort dilute the association? The WOLF Stockholm Study J. Epidemiol. Community Health, April 1, 2008; 62(4): 372 - 374. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 T. Chandola, A. Britton, E. Brunner, H. Hemingway, M. Malik, M. Kumari, E. Badrick, M. Kivimaki, and M. Marmot Work stress and coronary heart disease: what are the mechanisms? Eur. Heart J., March 1, 2008; 29(5): 640 - 648. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. H. Kroenke, D. Spiegelman, J. Manson, E. S. Schernhammer, G. A. Colditz, and I. Kawachi Work Characteristics and Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes in Women Am. J. Epidemiol., January 15, 2007; 165(2): 175 - 183. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Kopp, A. Skrabski, Z. Szanto, and J. Siegrist Psychosocial determinants of premature cardiovascular mortality differences within Hungary. J. Epidemiol. Community Health, September 1, 2006; 60(9): 782 - 788. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
H. Kuper, H.-O. Adami, T. Theorell, and E. Weiderpass Psychosocial Determinants of Coronary Heart Disease in Middle-Aged Women: A Prospective Study in Sweden Am. J. Epidemiol., August 15, 2006; 164(4): 349 - 357. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. E. Brown, G. D. James, and P. S. Mills Occupational Differences in Job Strain and Physiological Stress: Female Nurses and School Teachers in Hawaii Psychosom Med, July 1, 2006; 68(4): 524 - 530. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Macleod and G. Davey Smith RE: "JOB STRESS AND BREAST CANCER RISK: THE NURSES' HEALTH STUDY" Am. J. Epidemiol., December 1, 2005; 162(11): 1133 - 1134. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. Kroenke, I. Kawachi, L. Kubzansky, and E. Schernhammer THREE AUTHORS AND DR. KUBZANSKY REPLY Am. J. Epidemiol., December 1, 2005; 162(11): 1134 - 1135. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 T Chandola, J Siegrist, and M Marmot Do changes in effort-reward imbalance at work contribute to an explanation of the social gradient in angina? Occup. Environ. Med., April 1, 2005; 62(4): 223 - 230. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
E. S. Schernhammer, S. E. Hankinson, B. Rosner, C. H. Kroenke, W. C. Willett, G. A. Colditz, and I. Kawachi Job Stress and Breast Cancer Risk: The Nurses' Health Study Am. J. Epidemiol., December 1, 2004; 160(11): 1079 - 1086. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Steptoe, J. Siegrist, C. Kirschbaum, and M. Marmot Effort--Reward Imbalance, Overcommitment, and Measures of Cortisol and Blood Pressure Over the Working Day Psychosom Med, May 1, 2004; 66(3): 323 - 329. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. V Kasl and B. A Jones Social epidemiology: towards a better understanding of the field Int. J. Epidemiol., December 1, 2002; 31(6): 1094 - 1097. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Siegrist Commentary: Work stress and coronary heart disease--a gender (role) specific association? Int. J. Epidemiol., December 1, 2002; 31(6): 1154 - 1154. [Full Text]
|
|