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Psychosocial Working Environment and Risk of Adverse Cardiac Events in Patients Treated for Coronary Heart Disease

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Abstract

Introduction During the last decades a possible association between psychosocial working environment and increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) has been debated and moderate evidence supports that high psychological demands, lack of social support and iso-strain (the combination of high job strain and lack of social support) is associated with primary CHD. Whether psychosocial working environment plays a role as risk factor for new cardiac events and readmissions in patients with existing cardiovascular disease is less studied. Methods A cohort of patients <67 years treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was established in 2006. Three months after PCI patients answered a questionnaire about their psychosocial working environment. Patients were followed in the Danish National Patient Registry and the Danish Civil Registration System for 3+ years to identify adverse cardiac events and death. We analysed the association between psychosocial working environment and adverse cardiac events by Cox Regression. Results A number of 528 patients had returned to work 12 weeks after PCI, while 97 were still sick-listed. We identified 12 deaths and 211 other events during follow-up. We found no statistically significant associations between psychosocial working environment and risk of adverse cardiac events and readmissions or mortality. Conclusion The psychosocial working environment was not associated with adverse cardiac events.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by The Danish Heart Association, The Danish Working Environment Research Fund and The Western Denmark Research Forum for Health Research. The Danish Data Protection Agency approved the study, Ref. # 2007-41-0991.

Ethical standard

According to Danish law, approval by the Ethics committee and written informed consent is not required in questionnaire-based and register-based projects. Additional information is available at The National Committee on Health Research Ethics’s webpage in the “Act on Research Ethics Review of Health Research Projects” § 14,2. Available from: http://www.cvk.sum.dk/English/actonabiomedicalresearch.aspx.

Conflict of interest

Author Karin Biering, Author Johan Hviid Andersen, Author Thomas Lund and Author Niels Henrik Hjollund declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Occupational Medicine, Danish Ramazzini Centre, University Research Clinic, Regional Hospital West Jutland, 7400, Herning, Denmark

    Karin Biering, Johan Hviid Andersen, Thomas Lund & Niels Henrik Hjollund

  2. National Centre for Occupational Rehabilitation, Rauland, Norway

    Thomas Lund

  3. MarselisborgCentret, Research & Development, Public Health and Quality Improvement, Central Denmark Region, Århus, Denmark

    Thomas Lund

  4. WestChronic, Regional Hospital West Jutland, Herning, Denmark

    Niels Henrik Hjollund

  5. Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark

    Niels Henrik Hjollund

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  1. Karin Biering
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  4. Niels Henrik Hjollund
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Correspondence to Karin Biering.

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Biering, K., Andersen, J.H., Lund, T. et al. Psychosocial Working Environment and Risk of Adverse Cardiac Events in Patients Treated for Coronary Heart Disease. J Occup Rehabil 25, 770–775 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-015-9585-2

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