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Abstract Introduction Evidence suggests that workplace stress is associated with physical and mental health. However, the relationship between self-reported work stress and cortisol, a stress hormone, remains unclear. In addition, the association between work stress and other stress-related factors has not been comprehensively investigated. Therefore, this study investigated the relationship between stress and stress-related substances among workers using hair samples. Methods This study conducted a three-month analysis of 102 full-time employees in Japan with questionnaires, and hair samples were collected monthly. The questionnaire included demographic characteristics and lifestyle factors as well as the Athens Insomnia Scale, PHRF Stress Checklist Short Form, Stress Cognitive Rating Scale, Stress-Coping Scale, Quality of Life Scale, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale, Subjective Well-Being Inventory, and Sukemune-Hiew Resilience Test. Hair samples were used to measure cortisol (COR) and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) over one month. Results The results showed that COR in hair was negatively associated with aversive coping and emotional support-seeking in stress-coping tendencies. DHEA levels were linked to confidence. Discussion This study revealed that COR may be linked to reduced emotional-processing coping but not to subjective stress, which is often underestimated. High physical stress may be associated with greater difficulty coping with psychological aspects, such as emotions, related to a specific problem. DHEA, which is linked to stress resistance, may be associated with job confidence. Conclusion Although COR and DHEA do not directly reflect stress, they may be useful in understanding mental health.
Ohira et al. (Mon,) studied this question.