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Occupational stress and cardiovascular risk factors in high-ranking government officials and office workers
Seyyed Jalil Mirmohammadi1, Mahmoud Taheri1, Amir Houshang Mehrparvar1
1Department of Occupational Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, IR Iran.
Insights
High-ranking officials experience greater occupational stress and cardiovascular risk factors compared to office workers. This highlights the impact of job demands on health outcomes in leadership roles.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Psychology
Background:
- Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a leading cause of mortality and morbidity globally.
- Occupational stress, stemming from an imbalance between job demands and capabilities, is increasingly recognized as a significant contributor to CVD development.
- Understanding the interplay between occupational stress and CVD risk factors is crucial for public health interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare cardiovascular risk factors and dimensions of occupational stress between high-ranking government officials and a matched group of office workers.
- To identify specific occupational stressors prevalent in leadership positions versus general office roles.
- To elucidate the relationship between occupational stress and physiological CVD markers in distinct professional groups.
Main Methods:
- A comparative study involving 90 high-ranking government officials and 90 age/sex-matched office workers.
- Utilized the Occupational Role Questionnaire (Osipow) to assess personal history, medical history, and occupational stress.
- Conducted physical examinations and laboratory tests to evaluate cardiovascular risk factors.
Main Results:
- High-ranking officials reported higher stress related to role overload and responsibility, and a greater overall stress score.
- Officials exhibited increased waist-hip circumference and triglyceride levels compared to office workers.
- Office workers experienced more stress from role ambiguity and insufficiency, but had lower overall job stress.
Conclusions:
- High-ranking officials face elevated levels of occupational stress, particularly concerning role overload and responsibility.
- Managers demonstrated a higher prevalence of certain cardiovascular risk factors, including increased waist-hip circumference and triglyceride levels.
- The findings underscore the need for targeted occupational health strategies for leadership positions to mitigate CVD risks.
Background:
Cardiovascular diseases are among the most important sources of mortality and morbidity, and have a high disease burden. There are some major well-known risk factors, which contribute to the development of these diseases. Occupational stress is caused due to imbalance between job demands and individual's ability, and it has been implicated as an etiology for cardiovascular diseases.
Objectives:
This study was conducted to evaluate the cardiovascular risk factors and different dimensions of occupational stress in high-ranking government officials, comparing an age and sex-matched group of office workers with them.
Patients And Methods:
We invited 90 high-ranking officials who managed the main governmental offices in a city, and 90 age and sex-matched office workers. The subjects were required to fill the occupational role questionnaire (Osipow) which evaluated their personal and medical history as well as occupational stress. Then, we performed physical examination and laboratory tests to check for cardiovascular risk factors. Finally, the frequency of cardiovascular risk factors and occupational stress of two groups were compared.
Results:
High-ranking officials in our study had less work experience in their current jobs and smoked fewer pack-years of cigarette, but they had higher waist and hip circumference, higher triglyceride level, more stress from role overload and responsibility, and higher total stress score. Our group of office workers had more occupational stress because of role ambiguity and insufficiency, but their overall job stress was less than officials.
Conclusions:
The officials have higher scores in some dimensions of occupational stress and higher overall stress score. Some cardiovascular risk factors were also more frequent in managers.
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