OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the immunosuppressive effects of job stress in female nurses, an 8-month longitudinal study was conducted at a major university hospital. METHODS: Four groups of ten subjects each were constructed to represent high versus low objective stress and high versus low subjective stress based on their responses to a job stress questionnaire and objective stress ratings of the hospital's work units. Number of white blood cells (i.e., T cells, B cells, and natural killer cells), and lymphocytic proliferation to mitogens (concanavalin A, phytohemagglutinin, and pokeweed) and toxoid (tetanus) were measured by flow cytometry and radioimmunoassay. Serum levels of hydrocortisol, IL-1β, IFN-γ, and TNF-α, and salivary IgA were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The data were analyzed by repeated measures analysis of variance controlling for age and smoking. RESULTS: The level of white blood cells was lower among high objective stress group (median: 7,170/m(3); range: 5,386-10,057) compared with that among low objective stress group (8,063; 5,888-9,875) (P = 0.03), however, no other cellular blood variables were found to be significant. In terms of humoral immuno-biomarkers, the level of TNF-α was moderately lower among high objective stress group (1.7 ng/ml; 0.3-2.7) compared with that among low objective stress group (2.2; 0.5-3.5) (P = 0.07), whereas the level of total sIgA was significantly higher among higher objective stress group (72.9 end-point titer/mg/ml/min; 14.4-153.4) compared with that among low objective stress group (44.8; 9.9-123.8) (P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: The results of the study suggest that psychological job stress affects the levels of some immunological biomarkers in female nurses.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the immunosuppressive effects of job stress in female nurses, an 8-month longitudinal study was conducted at a major university hospital. METHODS: Four groups of ten subjects each were constructed to represent high versus low objective stress and high versus low subjective stress based on their responses to a job stress questionnaire and objective stress ratings of the hospital's work units. Number of white blood cells (i.e., T cells, B cells, and natural killer cells), and lymphocytic proliferation to mitogens (concanavalin A, phytohemagglutinin, and pokeweed) and toxoid (tetanus) were measured by flow cytometry and radioimmunoassay. Serum levels of hydrocortisol, IL-1β, IFN-γ, and TNF-α, and salivary IgA were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The data were analyzed by repeated measures analysis of variance controlling for age and smoking. RESULTS: The level of white blood cells was lower among high objective stress group (median: 7,170/m(3); range: 5,386-10,057) compared with that among low objective stress group (8,063; 5,888-9,875) (P = 0.03), however, no other cellular blood variables were found to be significant. In terms of humoral immuno-biomarkers, the level of TNF-α was moderately lower among high objective stress group (1.7 ng/ml; 0.3-2.7) compared with that among low objective stress group (2.2; 0.5-3.5) (P = 0.07), whereas the level of total sIgA was significantly higher among higher objective stress group (72.9 end-point titer/mg/ml/min; 14.4-153.4) compared with that among low objective stress group (44.8; 9.9-123.8) (P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: The results of the study suggest that psychological job stress affects the levels of some immunological biomarkers in female nurses.
Authors: G M Henningsen; J J Hurrell; F Baker; C Douglas; B A MacKenzie; S K Robertson; F C Phipps Journal: Scand J Work Environ Health Date: 1992 Impact factor: 5.024
Authors: C G Engeland; F N Hugo; J B Hilgert; G G Nascimento; R Junges; H-J Lim; P T Marucha; J A Bosch Journal: Brain Behav Immun Date: 2015-08-28 Impact factor: 7.217
Authors: Kuldeep Dhama; Shyma K Latheef; Maryam Dadar; Hari Abdul Samad; Ashok Munjal; Rekha Khandia; Kumaragurubaran Karthik; Ruchi Tiwari; Mohd Iqbal Yatoo; Prakash Bhatt; Sandip Chakraborty; Karam Pal Singh; Hafiz M N Iqbal; Wanpen Chaicumpa; Sunil Kumar Joshi Journal: Front Mol Biosci Date: 2019-10-18
Authors: Mohammad S Ahmad; Ahmed Bhayat; Muhammad Sohail Zafar; Khalid H Al-Samadani Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2017-04-20 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: Helena C Kaltenegger; Linda Becker; Nicolas Rohleder; Dennis Nowak; Matthias Weigl Journal: Scand J Work Environ Health Date: 2021-09-15 Impact factor: 5.492
Authors: Helena C Kaltenegger; Matthias Weigl; Linda Becker; Nicolas Rohleder; Dennis Nowak; Caroline Quartucci Journal: PLoS One Date: 2022-09-15 Impact factor: 3.752