BACKGROUND: Occupational stress and unhealthy lifestyles are common characteristics of urban workers. The association between health behaviors and job stress of urban Brazilian civil servants was studied. METHODS: A cross-sectional study included 893 workers. Health markers, the dependent variables, were: Fruit/vegetable (FV) and alcohol (A) intake, physical activity (PA), including at work (PAW), smoking (S), BMI ≥ 25 Kg/m(2). Occupational stress, assessed by Job Stress Scale-Brazilian version, classified employees into: High-strain, Low-strain, Active, and Passive. Prevalence rates and multivariate Poisson models were adopted. RESULTS: On average, employees (mean age = 40.2 years; 69.1% female) reported healthy lifestyle factors: FV (56%); PA (59.7%); S (13.3%); however, 49.4% were overweight. Compared to low-strain, high-strain workers reported higher PAW; passive workers lesser PA and higher PAW. After adjusting for socio-demographics and work characteristics, the occupational stress dimensions were no longer associated to health behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Our results do not support the hypothesis of an effect for occupational stress on urban employees' health behaviors.
BACKGROUND:Occupational stress and unhealthy lifestyles are common characteristics of urban workers. The association between health behaviors and job stress of urban Brazilian civil servants was studied. METHODS: A cross-sectional study included 893 workers. Health markers, the dependent variables, were: Fruit/vegetable (FV) and alcohol (A) intake, physical activity (PA), including at work (PAW), smoking (S), BMI ≥ 25 Kg/m(2). Occupational stress, assessed by Job Stress Scale-Brazilian version, classified employees into: High-strain, Low-strain, Active, and Passive. Prevalence rates and multivariate Poisson models were adopted. RESULTS: On average, employees (mean age = 40.2 years; 69.1% female) reported healthy lifestyle factors: FV (56%); PA (59.7%); S (13.3%); however, 49.4% were overweight. Compared to low-strain, high-strain workers reported higher PAW; passive workers lesser PA and higher PAW. After adjusting for socio-demographics and work characteristics, the occupational stress dimensions were no longer associated to health behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Our results do not support the hypothesis of an effect for occupational stress on urban employees' health behaviors.
Authors: Robine E van der Starre; Jennifer K Coffeng; Ingrid J M Hendriksen; Willem van Mechelen; Cécile R L Boot Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2013-12-20 Impact factor: 3.295