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Work Stress and Metabolic Syndrome in Police Officers. A Prospective Study
Sergio Garbarino1,2,3, Nicola Magnavita4
1State Police Health Service Department, Ministry of the Interior, Rome, Genoa, Italy.
Objective:
The aim of this longitudinal study was to evaluate the association between occupational stress and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in a rapid response police unit.
Method:
Work-related stress was continuously monitored during the 5-year period with both the Demand-Control-Support (DCS) and the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) models. Blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, and fasting blood glucose were measured at baseline in January 2009, and in January 2014. 234 out of 290 police officers (81%) completed the follow-up.
Results:
The majority of police officers had high stress levels. At follow-up, police officers in the highest quartile of stress had significantly higher mean levels of triglycerides, and lower levels of HDL-cholesterol than their colleagues in the lowest quartile. Police officers with high stress had an increased adjusted risk of developing MetS (aOR = 2.68; CI95% = 1.08-6.70), and hypertriglyceridemia (aOR = 7.86; CI95 = 1.29-48.04). Demand and Effort were significant predictors of MetS.
Conclusion:
Our study supports the hypothesis that work-related stress induces MetS, particularly through its effects on blood lipids. Future longitudinal studies with continuous monitoring of stress levels will definitively confirm this hypothesis.
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