Stress assessment in acute care department nurses by measuring interleukin-8.

Background: Cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-8, have been shown to be related to depressive symptoms or inflammatory diseases and may be useful as stress biomarkers.

Aim: This study was to assess whether urinary IL-8 levels were reliable indicators of stress among acute care department (AD) nurses.

Methods: A total of 118 nurses participated in the study.

The relationship between job stress and urinary cytokines in healthy nurses: a cross-sectional study.

Cytokines such as angiogenin (ANG) and interleukin (IL-8) have been shown to be related to depressive symptoms and inflammatory diseases like coronary heart disease. They may thus be used as stress biomarkers to identify and prevent health problems. To investigate the relationship between cytokines and nurses' job-related stress, levels of urinary ANG and IL-8 were measured in healthy female hospital nurses in Japan.