Identification of population groups at very high risk for frequent perception of stress in slovenia

To identify population groups at very high risk for frequent perception of stress and thus enable more focused planning of prevention actions in Slovenia.

Data originate from the national survey carried out in 2001 on health behavior of 15,379 adults aged 25-64. The overall response rate of the mailed questionnaire was 64%, with 9,043 questionnaires eligible for analysis. Binary multiple logistic regression was used to determine the impact of gender, age, education, employment, self-assessed social class, type of residence community, and geographical region on the prevalence of frequent stress perception.

The highest odds for stress were registered in women (OR(women vs men)=1.39, P<0.001), aged 40-49 years (OR(40-49 vs 30-39)=1.18, p=0.017; OR(50-59 vs 40-49)=0.73, P<0.001), participants with the lowest (OR(primary vs uncompleted primary education)=0.72, P=0.008) and the highest education levels (OR(college or higher vs secondary education)=1.26, P=0.022), unemployed participants (OR(unemployed vs housekeepers/students)=1.80, P=0.001), and administrative/intellectual employees (OR(administrative/intellectual employees vs housekeepers/students)=1.75, P=0.001), participants self-classified in the lowest social class (OR(labor vs lower)=0.50, P<0.001); residents from urban and suburban communities (OR(rural vs suburban/urban residence community)=0.86, P=0.037), and participants from the Eastern geographical region of Slovenia (OR(Eastern vs Western)=1.12, P=0.097).

In Slovenia, employed women, aged 40-49, with at least college education level were identified as the largest population sub-group at very high risk for frequent stress perception with at least minor difficulties in coping with these feelings, requiring specific public health measures to be introduced in this group.