title: Exploring differential health effects of work stress: a latent class cluster approach.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  While evidence highlights the detrimental health consequences of adverse working conditions, effect sizes vary by the stressor examined. In this study, we aimed to explore the differential effects various constellations of job demands have on prevalent symptom clusters.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analysed self-reported data from a nationwide Austrian survey (N= 16,466), based on a cross-sectional design. By means of latent class analysis, a set of items was used to assess the burden from several job demands as well as the frequency of occurrence of mental and physical symptoms in order to identify stress profiles and symptom clusters, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Analysis revealed four subgroups that each demonstrated a typological response pattern regarding job demands and health symptoms, respectively. The revealed stress profiles were found to be strongly related to the symptom clusters, while the effects differed considerably depending on the types of demands experienced.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The current study presents an alternative method of examining the stress-health link by using a combined person- and variable-centred approach. The findings suggest a hierarchy in stress exposure with the most pronounced health consequences found for a synchronous burden from physical, psychosocial and organizational demands.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Social Medicine and Epidemiology, Medical University of Graz , Graz , Austria.
authors.forename: Hannes
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mayerl
authors.affiliation: Institute of Social Medicine and Epidemiology, Medical University of Graz , Graz , Austria.
authors.forename: Erwin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stolz
authors.affiliation: Institute of Social Medicine and Epidemiology, Medical University of Graz , Graz , Austria.
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Waxenegger
authors.affiliation: Institute of Social Medicine and Epidemiology, Medical University of Graz , Graz , Austria.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Freidl
keywords: Latent class analysis; Person-centred approach; Stress profiles; Symptom clusters