Organisational justice and markers of inflammation: the Whitehall II study.
OBJECTIVE
Low organisational justice has been shown to be associated with increased risk of various health problems, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We tested whether organisational injustice contributes to chronic inflammation in a population of middle-aged men and women.


METHODS
This prospective cohort study uses data from 3205 men and 1204 women aged 35-55 years at entry into the Whitehall II study (phase 1, 1985-1988). Organisational justice perceptions were assessed at phase 1 and phase 2 (1989-1990) and circulating inflammatory markers C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin (IL)-6 at phase 3 (1991-1993) and phase 7 (2003-2004).


RESULTS
In men, low organisational justice was associated with increased CRP levels at both follow-ups (phase 3 and 7) and increased IL-6 at the second follow-up (phase 7). The long term (phase 7) associations were largely independent of covariates, such as age, employment grade, body mass index and depressive symptoms. In women, no relationship was found between organisational justice and CRP or IL-6.


CONCLUSIONS
This study suggests that organisational injustice is associated with increased long-term levels of inflammatory markers among men.
Elovainio
Marko
M
National Institute for Health and Welfare, PO Box 30, Fi-00271 Helsinki, Finland. marko.elovainio@thl.fi
Ferrie
Jane E
JE
Singh-Manoux
Archana
A
Gimeno
David
D
De Vogli
Roberto
R
Shipley
Martin
M
Vahtera
Jussi
J
Brunner
Eric
E
Marmot
Michael G
MG
Kivimäki
Mika
M
D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D003863:Depression / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000097:blood*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008131:London / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D015279:Organizational Culture; D017132:Workplace
D015415:Biomarkers; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D015850:Interleukin-6; D002097:C-Reactive Protein