title: Psychological job strain, social support at work and daytime secretion of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in healthy female employees: cross-sectional analyses.
abstract: Evidence is limited concerning the influences of high psychological job strain and low social support at work on daytime secretion of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), which demonstrates anti-cortisol effects. We carried out a cross-sectional study to examine the associations of job strain and social support with daytime secretion amounts of DHEA and cortisol and daytime variation of the cortisol-to-DHEA ratio (C/D ratio) in healthy female workers. Study subjects comprised 115 healthy female nursery school teachers. Area under the curve with respect to ground (AUCG) of salivary DHEA, cortisol and C/D ratio was calculated for estimation of daytime secretion and variation. Social support scores were negatively associated with daytime DHEA secretion (standardized partial regression coefficient = -0.343, P < 0.001 by multiple linear regression analysis). This association remained significant when daytime cortisol secretion was additionally adjusted. Social support was not associated with daytime variation of the C/D ratio. Significant association between social support and daytime cortisol secretion was not confirmed. Job strain was not associated with DHEA, cortisol or the C/D ratio. In summary, we found that daytime DHEA secretion was increased in healthy workers with low social support, perhaps independent of daytime cortisol secretion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Toyoake, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsuhiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ota
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Toyoake, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yatsuya
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Toyoake, Japan.|Division of Dentistry, Aichi Cancer Centre Hospital, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Junji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mase
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Toyoake, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuichiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ono
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019540:Area Under Curve; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone / Q000032:analysis*; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis*; D016014:Linear Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D012372:ROC Curve; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry
chemical_list: D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone; D006854:Hydrocortisone