Work stress is associated with diabetes and prediabetes: cross-sectional results from the MIPH Industrial Cohort Studies.
BACKGROUND
Diabetes is rapidly rising globally, and the relation of psychosocial stress in workplace to diabetes and prediabetes is not well investigated.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of the study was to examine the association of work stress with diabetes and prediabetes in a sample of German industrial workers.


METHODS
In this cross-sectional survey of an occupational cohort (n = 2,674, 77 % male), work stress was measured by the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) Questionnaire. Diabetic status, i.e., diabetes and prediabetes, were diagnosed by glycated hemoglobin A1c criterion or fasting plasma glucose criterion supplemented by self-reports.


RESULTS
The overall prevalence rates of diabetes and prediabetes were 3.5 and 42.2 %, respectively. Using ordinal logistic regression with adjustment for potential confounding factors, high ERI at work was associated with diabetes-related ordinal variable (odds ratio [OR], 1.27; 95 % confidence interval [95 % CI], 1.02-1.58) and prediabetes-related ordinal variable (OR, 1.26; 95 % CI, 1.01-1.58) in men, whereas the associations in women were somewhat less pronounced and did not reach statistical significance.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings indicate that work stress in terms of ERI is associated with diabetes and prediabetes in German industrial male workers. If supported by prospective evidence, results point to a new approach towards primary prevention of diabetes.
Mannheim Institute of Public Health, Social and Preventive Medicine, Mannheim Medical Faculty, Heidelberg University, Ludolf-Krehl-Strasse 7-11, 68167, Mannheim, Germany, lijian1974@hotmail.com.
Jian
J
Li
Marc N
MN
Jarczok
Adrian
A
Loerbroks
Ina
I
Schöllgen
Johannes
J
Siegrist
Jos A
JA
Bosch
Mark G
MG
Wilson
Daniel
D
Mauss
Joachim E
JE
Fischer
D000328:Adult; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011236:Prediabetic State / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016526:Workload / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data