Job strain in relation to body mass index: pooled analysis of 160 000 adults from 13 cohort studies

Abstract

Nyberg ST, Heikkilä K, Fransson EI, Alfredsson L, De Bacquer D, Bjorner JB, Bonenfant S, Borritz M, Burr H, Casini A, Clays E, Dragano N, Erbel R, Geuskens GA, Goldberg M, Hooftman WE, Houtman IL, Jöckel K‐H, Kittel F, Knutsson A, Koskenvuo M, Leineweber C, Lunau T, Madsen IEH, Magnusson Hanson LL, Marmot MG, Nielsen ML, Nordin M, Oksanen T, Pentti J, Rugulies R, Siegrist J, Suominen S, Vahtera J, Virtanen M, Westerholm P, Westerlund H, Zins M, Ferrie JE, Theorell T, Steptoe A, Hamer M, Singh‐Manoux A, Batty GD, Kivimäki M, for the IPD‐Work Consortium (Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland; Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden; Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark; Versailles‐Saint Quentin University, Versailles, France; Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health, Villejuif, France; Bispebjerg University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark; Centre for Maritime Health and Safety, Esbjerg, Denmark; Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium; University Duisburg‐Essen, Essen, Germany; West‐German Heart Center Essen, University Duisburg‐Essen, Essen, Germany; TNO, Hoofddorp, the Netherlands; Mid Sweden University, Sundsvall, Sweden; University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden; University College London, London, UK; Bispebjerg University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark; Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden; Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Turku, Finland; Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany; University of Turku, Turku; Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki; Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland; Uppsala University, Uppsala; Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; University of Bristol, Bristol; University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland). Job strain in relation to body mass index: pooled analysis of 160 000 adults from 13 cohort studies. J Intern Med 2012; 272 : 65–73. Background. Evidence of an association between job strain and obesity is inconsistent, mostly limited to small‐scale studies, and does not distinguish between categories of underweight or obesity subclasses. Objectives. To examine the association between job strain and body mass index (BMI) in a large adult population. Methods. We performed a pooled cross‐sectional analysis based on individual‐level data from 13 European studies resulting in a total of 161 746 participants (49% men, mean age, 43.7 years). Longitudinal analysis with a median follow‐up of 4 years was possible for four cohort studies ( n = 42 222). Results. A total of 86 429 participants were of normal weight (BMI 18.5–24.9 kg m −2 ), 2149 were underweight (BMI < 18.5 kg m −2 ), 56 572 overweight (BMI 25.0–29.9 kg m −2 ) and 13 523 class I (BMI 30–34.9 kg m −2 ) and 3073 classes II/III (BMI ≥ 35 kg m −2 ) obese. In addition, 27 010 (17%) participants reported job strain. In cross‐sectional analyses, we found increased odds of job strain amongst underweight [odds ratio 1.12, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.00–1.25], obese class I (odds ratio 1.07, 95% CI 1.02–1.12) and obese classes II/III participants (odds ratio 1.14, 95% CI 1.01–1.28) as compared with participants of normal weight. In longitudinal analysis, both weight gain and weight loss were related to the onset of job strain during follow‐up. Conclusions. In an analysis of European data, we found both weight gain and weight loss to be associated with the onset of job strain, consistent with a ‘U’‐shaped cross‐sectional association between job strain and BMI. These associations were relatively modest; therefore, it is unlikely that intervention to reduce job strain would be effective in combating obesity at a population level.

Shown for reading. Its publisher allows quoting it, not republishing it.

References 40

1. 1.

   Bessesen DH. Update on obesity. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008;93:2027-34.

   Not in our library10.1210/jc.2008-0520

2. 2.

   Kivimaki M, Virtanen M, Elovainio M, Kouvonen A, Vaananen A, Vahtera J. Work stress in the etiology of coronary heart disease – a meta-analysis. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2006;32:431-42.

   Not in our library10.5271/sjweh.1049

3. 3.

   Netterstrom B, Conrad N, Bech P, et al. The relation between work-related psychosocial factors and the development of depression. Epidemiol Rev. 2008;30:118-32.

   Not in our library10.1093/epirev/mxn004

4. 4.

   OSH in Figures: Stress at Work – Facts and Figures. 2009.

   Not in our library

5. 5.

   Kouvonen A, Kivimaki M, Vaananen A, et al. Job strain and adverse health behaviors: the Finnish public sector study. J Occup Environ Med. 2007;49:68-74.

   Not in our library10.1097/jom.0b013e31802db54a

6. 6.

   Kouvonen A, Kivimaki M, Elovainio M, Virtanen M, Linna A, Vahtera J. Job strain and leisure-time physical activity in female and male public sector employees. Prev Med. 2005;41:532-9.

   Not in our library10.1016/j.ypmed.2005.01.004

7. 7.

   Wardle J, Steptoe A, Oliver G, Lipsey Z. Stress, dietary restraint and food intake. J Psychosom Res. 2000;48:195-202.

   Not in our library10.1016/s0022-3999(00)00076-3

8. 8.

   Hannerz H, Albertsen K, Nielsen ML, Tuchsen F, Burr H. Occupational factors and 5-year weight change among men in a Danish national cohort. Health Psychol. 2004;23:283-8.

   Not in our library10.1037/0278-6133.23.3.283

9. 9.

   Kishi T, Elmquist JK. Body weight is regulated by the brain: a link between feeding and emotion. Mol Psychiatry. 2005;10:132-46.

   Not in our library10.1038/sj.mp.4001638

10. 10.

    Kivimaki M, Head J, Ferrie JE, et al. Work stress, weight gain and weight loss: evidence for bidirectional effects of job strain on body mass index in the Whitehall II study. Int J Obes. 2006;30:982-7.

    Not in our library10.1038/sj.ijo.0803229

11. 11.

    van den Berg TIJ, Elders LAM, de Zwart BCH, Burdorf A. The effects of work-related and individual factors on the work ability index: a systematic review. Occup Environ Med. 2009;66:211-20.

    Not in our library10.1136/oem.2008.039883

12. 12.

    Wamala SP, Wolk A, Orth-Gomer K. Determinants of obesity in relation to socioeconomic status among middle-aged Swedish women. Prev Med. 1997;26:734-44.

    Not in our library10.1006/pmed.1997.0199

13. 13.

    Netterstrom B, Kristensen TS, Damsgaard MT, Olsen O, Sjol A. Job strain and cardiovascular risk factors: a cross sectional study of employed Danish men and women. Br J Ind Med. 1991;48:684-9.

    Not in our library10.1136/oem.48.10.684

14. 14.

    Kouvonen A, Kivimaki M, Cox SJ, Cox T, Vahtera J. Relationship between work stress and body mass index among 45,810 female and male employees. Psychosom Med. 2005;67:577-83.

    Not in our library10.1097/01.psy.0000170330.08704.62

15. 15.

    Brunner EJ, Chandola T, Marmot MG. Prospective effect of job strain on general and central obesity in the Whitehall II study. Am J Epidemiol. 2007;165:828-37.

    Not in our library10.1093/aje/kwk058

16. 16.

    Block JP, He Y, Zaslavsky AM, Ding L, Ayanian JZ. Psychosocial stress and change in weight among us adults. Am J Epidemiol. 2009;170:181-92.

    Not in our library10.1093/aje/kwp104

17. 17.

    Hellerstedt WL, Jeffery RW. The association of job strain and health behaviours in men and women. Int J Epidemiol. 1997;26:575-83.

    Not in our library10.1093/ije/26.3.575

18. 18.

    Niedhammer I, Goldberg M, Leclerc A, David S, Bugel I, Landre MF. Psychosocial work environment and cardiovascular risk factors in an occupational cohort in France. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1998;52:93-100.

    Not in our library10.1136/jech.52.2.93

19. 19.

    Ostry AS, Radi S, Louie AM, LaMontagne AD. Psychosocial and other working conditions in relation to body mass index in a representative sample of Australian workers. BMC Public Health. 2006;6:53.

    Not in our library10.1186/1471-2458-6-53

20. 20.

    Brisson C, Larocque B, Moisan J, Vezina M, Dagenais GR. Psychosocial factors at work, smoking, sedentary behavior, and body mass index: a prevalence study among 6995 white collar workers. J Occup Environ Med. 2000;42:40-6.

    Not in our library10.1097/00043764-200001000-00011

21. 21.

    Fernandez ID, Su H, Winters PC, Liang H. Association of workplace chronic and acute stressors with employee weight status: data from worksites in turmoil. J Occup Environ Med. 2010;52(Suppl 1):S34-41.

    Not in our library10.1097/jom.0b013e3181c88525

22. 22.

    Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic. Report of a WHO consultation. World Health Organ Tech Rep Ser. 2000;894:i-xii.

    Not in our library

23. 23.

    Karasek R, Theorell T. Healthy Work: Stress, Productivity, and the Reconstruction of Working Life. 1990.

    Not in our library

24. 24.

    Riley RD, Lambert PC, Abo-Zaid G. Meta-analysis of individual participant data: rationale, conduct, and reporting. BMJ. 2010;340:c221.

    Not in our library10.1136/bmj.c221

25. 25.

    Simmonds MC, Higgins JP, Stewart LA, Tierney JF, Clarke MJ, Thompson SG. Meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomized trials: a review of methods used in practice. Clin Trials. 2005;2:209-17.

    Not in our library10.1191/1740774505cn087oa

26. 26.

    Stewart LA, Tierney JF, Clarke M, Higgins JPT, Green S. Chapter 18: reviews of individual patient data. Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Version 5.0.1 [Updated September 2008]. 2008;18.1-18.9.

    Not in our library

27. 27.

    Altman DG, Egger M, Davey Smith G. Systematic Reviews in Health Care Meta-Analysis in Context. 2001.

    Not in our library

28. 28.

    Higgins JP, Thompson SG, Deeks JJ, Altman DG. Measuring inconsistency in meta-analyses. BMJ. 2003;327:557-60.

    Not in our library10.1136/bmj.327.7414.557

29. 29.

    Overgaard D, Gyntelberg F, Heitmann BL. Psychological workload and body weight: is there an association? A review of the literature. Occup Med. 2004;54:35-41.

    Not in our library10.1093/occmed/kqg135

30. 30.

    Siegrist J, Rodel A. Work stress and health risk behavior. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2006;32:473-81.

    Not in our library10.5271/sjweh.1052

31. 31.

    Wardle J, Chida Y, Gibson EL, Whitaker KL, Steptoe A. Stress and adiposity: a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2011;19:771-8.

    Not in our library10.1038/oby.2010.241

32. 32.

    Ishizaki M, Nakagawa H, Morikawa Y, Honda R, Yamada Y, Kawakami N. Influence of job strain on changes in body mass index and waist circumference – 6-year longitudinal study. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2008;34:288-96.

    Not in our library

33. 33.
    Does stress at work make you gain weight? A two-year longitudinal study · 2011

    Not checked
34. 34.

    Eek F, Ostergren PO. Factors associated with BMI change over five years in a Swedish adult population. Results from the Scania Public Health Cohort Study. Scand J Public Health. 2009;37:532-44.

    Not in our library10.1177/1403494809104359

35. 35.

    Kivimaki M, Leino-Arjas P, Luukkonen R, Riihimaki H, Vahtera J, Kirjonen J. Work stress and risk of cardiovascular mortality: prospective cohort study of industrial employees. BMJ. 2002;325:857.

    Not in our library10.1136/bmj.325.7369.857

36. 36.

    Taylor AE, Ebrahim E, Ben-Shlomo Y, et al. Comparison of the associations of body mass index and measures of central adiposity and fat mass with coronary heart disease, diabetes, and all-cause mortality: a study using data from 4 UK cohorts. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010;91:547-56.

    Not in our library10.3945/ajcn.2009.28757

37. 37.

    Lallukka T, Laaksonen M, Martikainen P, Sarlio-Lahteenkorva S, Lahelma E. Psychosocial working conditions and weight gain among employees. Int J Obes. 2005;29:909-15.

    Not in our library10.1038/sj.ijo.0802962

38. 38.

    Kivimäki M, Lawlor DA, Singh-Manoux A, et al. Common mental disorder and obesity – insight from 4 repeat measures over 19 years: the prospective Whitehall II cohort study. BMJ. 2009;339:b3765.

    Not in our library10.1136/bmj.b3765

39. 39.

    Berrington de Gonzalez A, Hartge P, Cerhan JR, et al. Body-mass index and mortality among 1.46 million white adults. N Engl J Med. 2010;363:2211-9.

    Not in our library10.1056/nejmoa1000367

40. 40.

    Whitlock G, Lewington S, Sherliker P, et al. Body-mass index and cause-specific mortality in 900 000 adults: collaborative analyses of 57 prospective studies. Lancet. 2009;373:1083-96.

    Not in our library10.1016/s0140-6736(09)60318-4

Cited by papers we hold 6

• Psychosocial work exposures and health outcomes: a meta-review of 72 literature reviews with meta-analysis · 2021
  No notice
• Association of Healthy Lifestyle With Years Lived Without Major Chronic Diseases · 2020
  No notice
• Effort–Reward Imbalance at Work and Incident Coronary Heart Disease · 2017
  No notice
• Study protocol for examining job strain as a risk factor for severe unipolar depression in an individual participant meta-analysis of 14 European cohorts [v2; ref status: indexed, http://f1000r.es/30q] · 2014
  Not checked
• The appraisal of chronic stress and the development of the metabolic syndrome: a systematic review of prospective cohort studies · 2014
  No notice
• Job Strain and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors: Meta-Analysis of Individual-Participant Data from 47,000 Men and Women · 2013
  No notice

Reads

A person counts once a day per paper. We keep no cookie and no address: a reader is a hash that changes every day. Any month under five reads shows no number.