Job strain was associated with a significantly increased risk of incident stroke among Japanese men (HR 2.73; 95% CI 1.17-6.38) compared to low strain, with no significant difference found in women.
Cohort (n=6,553)
Yes
Does job strain increase the risk of incident stroke in Japanese workers?
Occupational stress characterized by high job demand and low job control is associated with a significantly increased risk of incident stroke in Japanese men, but not women.
Effect estimate: HR 2.73 (95% CI 1.17-6.38)
BACKGROUND: No prospective studies have examined the association between occupational stress according to the job demand-control model and the risk of stroke in Asian populations. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter community-based prospective study of 6553 Japanese male and female workers. Occupational stress was evaluated using a Japanese version of the job demand-control model questionnaire. We used the Cox proportional hazards model to evaluate the association between occupational stress and stroke. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up of 11 years, we identified 147 incident strokes. Multivariable analysis revealed a more than 2-fold increase in the risk of total stroke among men with job strain (combination of high job demand and low job control) (hazard ratio, 2.73; 95% confidence interval, 1.17-6.38) compared with counterpart men with low strain (combination of low job demand and high job control) after adjustment for age, educational attainment, occupation, smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and study area. Additional adjustments for biologic risk factors attenuated the hazard ratio, but there continued to be statistical significance (hazard ratio, 2.53; 95% confidence interval, 1.08-5.94). In women, no statistically significant differences were found for any stroke incidence among the job characteristic categories. CONCLUSION: Occupational stress related to job strain was associated with incident strokes among Japanese men.
Tsutsumi et al. (2009) conducted a cohort in Stroke (n=6,553). Job strain (high job demand and low job control) vs. Low strain (low job demand and high job control) was evaluated on Incident strokes (HR 2.73, 95% CI 1.17-6.38). Job strain was associated with a significantly increased risk of incident stroke among Japanese men (HR 2.73; 95% CI 1.17-6.38) compared to low strain, with no significant difference found in women.