title: Job strain and risk of obesity: systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies.
abstract: Job strain, the most widely used indicator of work stress, is a risk factor for obesity-related disorders such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. However, the extent to which job strain is related to the development of obesity itself has not been systematically evaluated. We carried out a systematic review (PubMed and Embase until May 2014) and meta-analysis of cohort studies to address this issue. Eight studies that fulfilled inclusion criteria showed no overall association between job strain and the risk of weight gain (pooled odds ratio for job strain compared with no job strain 1.04, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.99-1.09, NTotal=18 240) or becoming obese (1.00, 95% CI 0.89-1.13, NTotal=42 222). In addition, a reduction in job strain over time was not associated with lower obesity risk (1.13, 95% CI 0.90-1.41, NTotal=6507). These longitudinal findings do not support the hypothesis that job strain is an important risk factor for obesity or a promising target for obesity prevention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, UK.|Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kivimäki
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, UK.|Inserm, Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health, Hôpital Paul Brousse, Villejuif, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Singh-Manoux
authors.affiliation: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nyberg
authors.affiliation: Institute of Behavioral Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jokela
authors.affiliation: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Virtanen
mesh_terms: D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D004651:Employment / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015430:Weight Gain