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Work Stress is Associated with Diabetes and Prediabetes: Cross-Sectional Results from the MIPH Industrial Cohort Studies

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Abstract

Background

Diabetes is rapidly rising globally, and the relation of psychosocial stress in workplace to diabetes and prediabetes is not well investigated.

Purpose

The aim of the study was to examine the association of work stress with diabetes and prediabetes in a sample of German industrial workers.

Method

In this cross-sectional survey of an occupational cohort (n = 2,674, 77 % male), work stress was measured by the Effort–Reward Imbalance (ERI) Questionnaire. Diabetic status, i.e., diabetes and prediabetes, were diagnosed by glycated hemoglobin A1c criterion or fasting plasma glucose criterion supplemented by self-reports.

Results

The overall prevalence rates of diabetes and prediabetes were 3.5 and 42.2 %, respectively. Using ordinal logistic regression with adjustment for potential confounding factors, high ERI at work was associated with diabetes-related ordinal variable (odds ratio [OR], 1.27; 95 % confidence interval [95 % CI], 1.02–1.58) and prediabetes-related ordinal variable (OR, 1.26; 95 % CI, 1.01–1.58) in men, whereas the associations in women were somewhat less pronounced and did not reach statistical significance.

Conclusion

The findings indicate that work stress in terms of ERI is associated with diabetes and prediabetes in German industrial male workers. If supported by prospective evidence, results point to a new approach towards primary prevention of diabetes.

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Acknowledgments

We are indebted to HealthVision Ltd, Berlingen Switzerland for providing the data. We also gratefully acknowledge Prof. David Litaker from the Case Western Reserve University for his valuable comments during the preparation of this manuscript as well as two reviewers and editor for suggesting the in-depth analyses and explanations.

Conflict of Interest

Prof. Dr. Joachim E. Fischer is the major shareholder of HealthVision Ltd, which organized the conduct of this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mannheim Institute of Public Health, Social and Preventive Medicine, Mannheim Medical Faculty, Heidelberg University, Ludolf-Krehl-Strasse 7-11, 68167, Mannheim, Germany

    Jian Li, Marc N. Jarczok, Adrian Loerbroks, Ina Schöllgen, Jos A. Bosch, Daniel Mauss & Joachim E. Fischer

  2. Institute of Occupational and Social Medicine, University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Jian Li

  3. Department of Medical Sociology, University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Johannes Siegrist

  4. Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

    Jos A. Bosch

  5. Department of Health Promotion and Behavior, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, USA

    Mark G. Wilson

  6. Department of Occupational Medicine, Allianz Germany, Munich, Germany

    Daniel Mauss

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  1. Jian Li
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  2. Marc N. Jarczok
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Correspondence to Jian Li.

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Li, J., Jarczok, M.N., Loerbroks, A. et al. Work Stress is Associated with Diabetes and Prediabetes: Cross-Sectional Results from the MIPH Industrial Cohort Studies. Int.J. Behav. Med. 20, 495–503 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-012-9255-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-012-9255-0

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