Abstract 10014: Work-Related Stress and Ideal Cardiovascular Health: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Abstract

Background: Work-related stress is a psychosocial risk factor linked to a higher risk of adverse health outcomes, especially cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the association between work-related stress and ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) is not well established. We examined whether work-related stress was negatively associated with favorable CVH in a multi-ethnic population of adults free of CVD at baseline. Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data of 6,486 men and women aged 45-84 years. Work-related stress was assessed by the presence or absence of ongoing job difficulty and ongoing job difficulty for >6 months. CVH was measured by a scoring system that assigned points to 7 metrics (smoking, physical activity, body mass index, diet, total cholesterol, blood pressure and blood glucose). Each metric had 3 categories: poor (0 points), intermediate (1 point) and ideal (2 points). The total score attainable was 14 points, categorized as inadequate (0-8 points), average (9-10 points) and optimal (11-14 points). We used polytomous logistic regression to examine the association of work-related stress with the CVH score and number of ideal metrics, adjusted for sociodemographic factors. Results: The mean age (SD) was 62 (10) years and 53% were women. Ongoing job difficulty was reported by 14% of participants while 13% reported ongoing job difficulty for >6 months. Participants who reported ongoing job difficulty had 21% and 24% lower odds of having average and optimal CVH scores, respectively (Table). Additionally, the presence of ongoing job difficulty for >6 months was associated with 23% and 24% lower odds of having average and optimal CVH scores, respectively. A similar trend was observed for the association of work-related stress with the number of ideal metrics. Conclusion: Work-related stress was negatively associated with favorable CVH. Stress reduction and CVH promotion programs in the workplace may decrease the incidence of CVD.