Herr RM, Almer C, Loerbroks A, Barrech A, Elfantel I, Siegrist J, Guendel H, Angerer P, Li J (2018)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2018
Book Volume: 89
Pages Range: 134-137
DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.01.011
There is ample evidence supporting the link between stress at the workplace and physical and mental health. One of the pathways potentially mediating those associations may involve the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, with cortisol as an end product. While theoretically plausible, findings on the association of self-reported work stress with hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) are inconclusive, being potentially biased by omitted pertinent factors. This issue can be addressed, among others, by eliminating time-invariant factors through consideration of variation within persons over time. To this end, the present study examined the association between variation in HCC and perceived work stress − as assessed by the Effort-Reward-Imbalance (ERI) model − between two points in time (t1 and t2) over one year in a sample of 40 male factory workers. Neither a cross-sectional association, nor a link between change in ERI and HCC levels at t2 was observed. There was however a robust association of the change in ERI with the change of HCC. This effect was independent of baseline HCC and other confounders (Beta = 0.414, S.E. = 0.155, p = 0.012). Accordingly, this is the first study revealing prospective evidence for the associations of work stress with HCC, while excluding potentially time-stable confounding factors, like genetic factors or phenotypic hair color.
APA:
Herr, R.M., Almer, C., Loerbroks, A., Barrech, A., Elfantel, I., Siegrist, J.,... Li, J. (2018). Associations of work stress with hair cortisol concentrations – initial findings from a prospective study. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 89, 134-137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.01.011
MLA:
Herr, Raphael M., et al. "Associations of work stress with hair cortisol concentrations – initial findings from a prospective study." Psychoneuroendocrinology 89 (2018): 134-137.
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