Key result
Among workers with high baseline diastolic blood pressure, exposure to high job strain was associated with higher arterial stiffness (MD 1.38 m/s; 95% CI 0.57-2.19) after 16 years.
Why the study?
Both arterial stiffness and psychosocial work-related factors increase cardiovascular disease risk, but little is known about the relationship between them.
Does exposure to high job strain and effort-reward imbalance at midlife increase arterial stiffness at older age in white-collar workers?
Cohort (n=1,736)
Yes
Does exposure to high job strain and effort-reward imbalance at midlife increase arterial stiffness at older age in white-collar workers?
Mean Difference: 1.38 (95% CI 0.57–2.19)
High job strain at midlife may have a long-term deleterious effect on arterial stiffness, particularly in individuals with high baseline blood pressure.
High job strain may accelerate arterial stiffening in high-DBP workers; leaves open whether stress interventions alter long-term vascular outcomes.
OBJECTIVE: Arterial stiffness and exposure to psychosocial work-related factors increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. However, little is known about the relationship between psychosocial work-related factors and arterial stiffness. We aimed to examine this relationship. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Public organisations in Quebec City, Canada. PARTICIPANTS: The study included 1736 white-collar workers (women 52%) from 19 public organisations. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Association between psychosocial work-related factors from the job strain and effort-reward imbalance (ERI) models assessed at study baseline (1999-2001) with validated instruments and arterial stiffness assessed using carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity at follow-up, on average 16 years later (2015-2018). Generalised estimating equations were used to estimate differences in arterial stiffness between exposed and unexposed participants. Subgroup analyses according to sex, age, blood pressure (BP), cardiovascular risk score and employment status were conducted. RESULTS: Among participants with high diastolic BP (≥90 mm Hg) at baseline, aged 47 on average, those exposed to high job strain had higher arterial stiffness (1.38 m/s (95% CI: 0.57 to 2.19)) at follow-up, 16 years later, following adjustment for a large set of potential confounders. The trend was similar in participants with high systolic BP (≥140 mm Hg) exposed to high job strain (0.84 m/s (95% CI: -0.35 to 2.03)). No association was observed for ERI in the total sample and counterintuitive associations were observed in subgroup analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Job strain may have a long-term deleterious effect on arterial stiffness in people with high BP. Interventions at midlife to reduce job strain may mitigate arterial stiffness progression.
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Massamba et al. (2023) reported a cohort. High job strain and effort-reward imbalance vs. Unexposed participants was evaluated on Arterial stiffness assessed using carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (MD 1.38 m/s, 95% CI 0.57 to 2.19). Among workers with high baseline diastolic blood pressure, exposure to high job strain was associated with higher arterial stiffness (MD 1.38 m/s; 95% CI 0.57-2.19) after 16 years.
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