title: Association of perceived stress with stressful life events, lifestyle and sociodemographic factors: a large-scale community-based study using logistic quantile regression.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The present paper aimed at investigating the association between perceived stress and major life events stressors in Iranian general population.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a cross-sectional large-scale community-based study, 4583 people aged 19 and older, living in Isfahan, Iran, were investigated. Logistic quantile regression was used for modeling perceived stress, measured by GHQ questionnaire, as the bounded outcome (dependent), variable, and as a function of most important stressful life events, as the predictor variables, controlling for major lifestyle and sociodemographic factors. This model provides empirical evidence of the predictors' effects heterogeneity depending on individual location on the distribution of perceived stress.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results showed that among four stressful life events, family conflicts and social problems were more correlated with level of perceived stress. Higher levels of education were negatively associated with perceived stress and its coefficients monotonically decrease beyond the 30th percentile. Also, higher levels of physical activity were associated with perception of low levels of stress. The pattern of gender's coefficient over the majority of quantiles implied that females are more affected by stressors. Also high perceived stress was associated with low or middle levels of income.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of current research suggested that in a developing society with high prevalence of stress, interventions targeted toward promoting financial and social equalities, social skills training, and healthy lifestyle may have the potential benefits for large parts of the population, most notably female and lower educated people.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan 8174675731, Iran. awat feiz@hlth.mui.ac.ir
authors.forename: Awat
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Feizi
authors.forename: Roqayeh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Aliyari
authors.forename: Hamidreza
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Roohafza
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008016:Life Change Events; D008019:Life Style; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009043:Motor Activity; D009752:Nutritional Status; D010465:Perception; D012107:Research Design; D012919:Social Behavior; D012923:Social Class; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires