title: Are changes in workplace bullying status related to changes in salivary cortisol? A longitudinal study among Danish employees.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aims to investigate whether incident workplace bullying and its dicontinuance is related to subsequent change in morning and evening saliva cortisol concentrations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants came from two Danish cohort studies, the PRISME cohort (n=4489) and the Workplace Bullying and Harassment Cohort (n=3707). At baseline and follow-up exposure to bullying was measured by a single question on bullying (preceded by a definition). Two saliva samples to measure cortisol were collected during a work-day (30 min after awakening and at 8 p.m.). All participants responding to the item on workplace bullying, giving saliva samples and participated at both baseline and follow-up were included. The reference group consisted of non-bullied respondents at both baseline and follow-up. Multilevel mixed-effects linear regressions were used to test for changes in salivary cortisol after newly onset of and discontinuance of workplace bullying. All analyses were adjusted for the potentially confounding effect of differences from baseline to follow-up in education, smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index, cohort, sampling waves, time of awakening, and time of sampling.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found no indication of statistically significant difference in saliva cortisol, neither when participants changed their self-labelling from not bullied at baseline to being bullied at follow-up, nor when they at follow-up two years later reported discontinuance of bullying.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This longitudinal study on the impact of changes in bullying status on change in cortisol levels showed consistent lack of associations with onset and discontinuance of workplace bullying.
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Bispebjerg University Hospital, Bispebjerg Bakke 23, Gate 33, 2400 Copenhagen NV, Denmark. Electronic address: mariagullander@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gullander
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Copenhagen University, Øster Farimagsgade 5, Postboks 2099, 1014 Copenhagen K, Denmark. Electronic address: matg@sund.ku.dk.
authors.forename: Matias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grynderup
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Copenhagen University, Øster Farimagsgade 5, Postboks 2099, 1014 Copenhagen K, Denmark; The National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Lersø Parkallé 105,, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark. Electronic address: asemarie.hansen@sund.ku.dk.
authors.forename: Åse Marie
authors.initials: ÅM
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Copenhagen University, Øster Farimagsgade 2A, 1353 Copenhagen, Denmark. Electronic address: annie.hogh@psy.ku.dk.
authors.forename: Annie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hogh
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Lund University, Lund, Allhelgona Kyrkogata 14 O, Box 213, 221 00 Lund, Sweden. Electronic address: Roger.Persson@psy.lu.se.
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Persson
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Medicine, Danish Ramazzini Centre, Aarhus University Hospital, Nørrebrogade 44, Bygn. 2C, 1. Sal, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. Electronic address: henkol@rm.dk.
authors.forename: Henrik Albert
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Kolstad
authors.affiliation: Research Department P, Aarhus University Hospital, Skovagervej 2, 8240 Risskov, Denmark. Electronic address: nielmors@rm.dk.
authors.forename: Ole
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Mors
authors.affiliation: Research Unit of Clinical Epidemiology, Institute of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark; Center for Clinical Epidemiology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark. Electronic address: Linda.Kaerlev@rsyd.dk.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kaerlev
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Bispebjerg University Hospital, Bispebjerg Bakke 23, Gate 33, 2400 Copenhagen NV, Denmark. Electronic address: Jens.Peter.Ellekilde.Bonde@regionh.dk.
authors.forename: Jens Peter
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Bonde
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D058445:Bullying; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D017132:Workplace
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: Cortisol; Discontinuance; New cases; Saliva; Workplace bullying