Work-related life events, psychological well-being and cardiovascular risk factors in male Swedish automotive workers.
OBJECTIVE
To analyse the relationship between life events, social support, psychological well-being and cardiovascular risk factors in blue- and white-collar Swedish automotive workers.


METHODS
Baseline questionnaire regarding life events, social support, depressed mood and mental strain and smoking habits. Follow-up questionnaire after 5 years included the Psychological General Well-being Inventory to assess various health variables. At baseline and follow-up, anthropometric data were obtained. Blood pressure, blood glucose and serum lipids were measured and smoking habits were surveyed.


RESULTS
The blue-collar workers showed a profile indicating increased cardiovascular risk with a higher proportion of smokers, a higher waist to hip ratio and higher triglycerides. They also reported themselves to have worse general health and less emotional self-control, but were less anxious than the white-collar workers. Negative life events, especially those related to work seemed to affect the well-being of the blue-collar workers more adversely than the white-collar workers. Being nervous and depressed at baseline increased the risk of poor psychological well-being at the follow-up. Social support within this 5-year perspective was a factor which predicted psychological well-being in both worker categories. Increase in cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio was the only cardiovascular risk factor associated with the strain of life events but not with work-related events.


CONCLUSIONS
Over a 5-year period, men who experienced negative, strongly stressful and work-related life events displayed poorer psychological well-being at follow-up regardless of worker category. Social support was protective.
Rose
Gisela
G
Primary Health Care-Department of Primary Health Care, PO Box 5129, Göteborg SE-426 05, Sweden. gr@kungsportslakarna.se
Kumlin
Lars
L
Dimberg
Lennart
L
Bengtsson
Calle
C
Orth-Gomer
Kristina
K
Cai
Xiaodong
X
D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications; D001336:Automobiles; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000523:psychology*; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D004522:Educational Status; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry; D008016:Life Change Events; D016014:Linear Models; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio
D001786:Blood Glucose; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008055:Lipids; D014280:Triglycerides