Association of perceived stress and stiff neck/shoulder with health status: multiple regression models by gender

It is well known that psychological stress affects health status. Stiff neck and shoulder in a broad sense is one of the major somatic complaints among Japanese. The objective was to determine how much perceived stress and stiff neck/shoulder are associated with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) by gender. Participants (n = 512) completed the Japanese version of Perceived Stress Scale, the SF-8 Japanese version and original questions on perceived stiff neck/shoulder. Muscle hardness around the shoulder also was measured with the muscle tension meter. The multiple regression model of the men demonstrated that perceived stress was associated with not only the mental component summary (MCS) (beta: -0.494), but also the physical component summary (PCS) (beta = -0.319) of the SF-8. Although, in the model of the women, perceived stress was also associated with MCS (beta: -0.632) more than in that of the men, stiff neck/shoulder and age group (beta: -0.231; -0.268, respectively), but not stress, were related to PCS. The subjective neck/shoulder stiffness was hardly correlated with the objective shoulder muscle hardness. This study revealed the associations between perceived stress, stiff neck/shoulder and HRQoL, and their difference by gender. The hypothesis of gender differences was discussed with a focus on kind of stressors, perception of stress, admission of negative symptoms and cause of stiff neck/shoulder.