Relationship between two alternative occupational stress models and arterial stiffness: a cross-sectional study among Japanese workers.

Objective: Numerous studies have reported the relationships between job characteristics and coronary heart diseases. However, there are only a few reports on the association between occupational stresses and arterial stiffness as a marker of early stage arthrosclerosis. The aim of this study was to clarify the relationship between occupational stress models--Siegrist's effort reward imbalance and Karasek's demand control model (DCM)--and arterial stiffness using brachial-ankle pulse-wave velocity (baPWV).

Methods: The participants were local government employees (3,412 men and 854 women) aged 35 and over who had their annual health checkups. The associations between occupational stress questionnaires of the two theoretical models and a risk of increased arterial stiffness using baPWV were examined.

Results: On performing multiple linear regression analysis after fully adjusting the model, high strain, which was defined as a combination of both low job control and high job demands in the DCM, was found to be significantly associated with a high risk of arterial stiffness (P = 0.027) in women. However, in men, although low job control was positively significant with a high value of baPWV adjusted for each step, modest but not significant association was found after adjustment for all covariates.

Conclusion: In conclusion, the present study indicates that high strain indicated by high demands and low control is associated with increased arterial stiffness in women. The types of job stress associated with a high risk of arterial stiffness may differ by gender.