Associations of work hours, job strain, and occupation with endothelial function: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).
OBJECTIVE
To investigate associations of work hours, job control, job demands, job strain, and occupational category with brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) in 1499 Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis participants.


METHODS
Flow-mediated dilation was obtained using high-resolution ultrasound. Mean values of FMD were examined across categories of occupation, work hours, and the other exposures using regression analyses.


RESULTS
Occupational category was significantly associated with FMD overall, with blue-collar workers showing the lowest mean values-management/professional = 4.97 ± 0.22%; sales/office = 5.19 ± 0.28%; services = 4.73 ± 0.29%; and blue-collar workers = 4.01 ± 0.26% (adjusted P < 0.001). There was evidence of effect modification by sex (interaction P = 0.031)-significant associations were observed among women (adjusted P = 0.002) and nearly significant results among men (adjusted P = 0.087). Other exposures were not significantly associated with FMD.


CONCLUSIONS
Differences in endothelial function may account for some of the variation in cardiovascular disease across occupational groups.
From the Biostatistics and Epidemiology Branch (Drs Charles, Fekedulegn, Burchfiel, and Andrew), Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morgantown, WV; Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences (Dr Landsbergis), State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, NY, and State University of New York Downstate School of Public Health, Brooklyn, NY; Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluation, and Field Studies (Drs Baron and Fujishiro), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cincinnati, OH; Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences (Dr Kaufman), School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; Department of Biostatistics (Ms Stukovsky), School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy (Dr Foy), Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC; and School of Public Health (Dr Diez Roux), Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA. Research was conducted at the Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Luenda E
LE
Charles
Desta
D
Fekedulegn
Paul
P
Landsbergis
Cecil M
CM
Burchfiel
Sherry
S
Baron
Joel D
JD
Kaufman
Karen Hinckley
KH
Stukovsky
Kaori
K
Fujishiro
Capri G
CG
Foy
Michael E
ME
Andrew
Ana V
AV
Diez Roux
D001741:Black or African American; D001213:Asian; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000502:physiology*; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009790:Occupations; D017009:Professional Autonomy; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014664:Vasodilation; D044465:White People; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance / Q000502:physiology; D016526:Workload