title: Relationship of psychological and physiological variables in long-term self-monitored data during work ability rehabilitation program.
abstract: Individual wellness comprises both psychological and physiological wellbeing, which are interrelated. In long-term monitoring of wellness, both components should be included. Work-related stress and burnout are persistent problems in industrial countries. Early identification of work-related stress symptoms and early intervention could reduce individual suffering and improve the working productivity and creativity. The goal of this study was to explore the relationship between physiological and psychological variables measured at home by the users themselves or automatically. In all, 17 (3 males and 14 females, age 40-62) people participating in a work ability rehabilitation program (due to work overload) were monitored for three months. Physiological and behavioral variables (activity, bed occupancy, heart rate (HR) and respiration during night, HR during day, blood pressure, steps, weight, room illumination, and temperature) were measured with different unobtrusive wireless sensors. Daily self-assessment of stress, mood, and behaviors (exercise, sleep) were collected using a mobile phone diary. The daily self-assessment of stress and the Derogatis stress profile questionnaire were used as reference for stress status. Results show modest, but significant pooled overall correlations between self-assessed stress level, and physiological and behavioral variables (e.g., sleep length measured with wrist-worn activity monitor: rho = -0.22, p < 0.001, and variance of nightly bedroom illumination: rho = 0.13, p < 0.001). Strong, but sometimes conflicting correlations can be found at individual level, suggesting individual reactions to stress in daily life.
authors.affiliation: Valtion Teknillinen Tutkimuskeskus (VTT) Technical Research Centre, 33101 Tampere, Finland. juha.parkka@vtt.fi
authors.forename: Juha
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pärkkä
authors.forename: Juho
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Merilahti
authors.forename: Elina M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Mattila
authors.forename: Esko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Malm
authors.forename: Kari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Antila
authors.forename: Martti T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Tuomisto
authors.forename: Ari Viljam
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Saarinen
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Gils
authors.forename: Ilkka
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Korhonen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; D015924:Blood Pressure Monitors; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006262:Health; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012890:Sleep; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D017132:Workplace