[Anxiety, life style and obstetric history of women working in a high-fashion clothing industry].

Women with a mean age of 38 years (range 20-62) were employed in an industry producing clothes of high fashion. A part of them (n = 210) performed their activities with hands and others (n = 90) utilising machines with more repetitive procedures. All the recruited women answered to a questionnaire including the state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI) test, working activities, lifestyle and obstetric history. There was no relation between obstetric history and working activities. The group of women with age ranging from 35 to 42 years showed the score of the STAI higher than that of the younger women and slightly lower than that of the subjects with older age. This may depend on the "healthy worker effect" in the old subjects able to continue their job. The scores of the STAI were also slightly influenced by the repetitive tasks utilising machines. On the whole, the working activity of women had beneficial effect on their role inside the family and in the social life.