Abstract
Although associations between work stressors and stress-related biomarkers have been reported in cross-sectional studies, the use of single time measurements of work stressors could be one of the reasons for inconsistent associations. This study examines whether repeated reports of work stress towards the end of the working career predicts allostatic load, a measure of chronic stress related physiological processes. Data from waves 2 to 6 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) were analysed, with a main analytical sample of 2663 older adults (aged 50+) who had at least one measurement of effort-reward imbalance between waves 2–6 and a measurement of allostatic load at wave 6. Cumulative work stress over waves 2–6 were measured by the effort-reward imbalance model. ELSA respondents who had reported two or more occasions of imbalance had a higher (0.3) estimate of the allostatic load index than those who did not report any imbalance, controlling for a range of health and socio-demographic factors, as well as allostatic load at baseline. More recent reports of imbalance were significantly associated with a higher allostatic load index, whereas reports of imbalance from earlier waves of ELSA were not. The accumulation of work related stressors could have adverse effects on chronic stress biological processes.
Highlights
Work-related stress is one of the key factors resulting in negative employee outcomes such as mental ill-health [1,2], disability, and early labour market exit [3]
If greater exposure to work-related stressors over a working lifetime is associated with more adverse levels of biological stress responses, this is stronger evidence that work-related stress negatively affects physiological health compared to cross-sectional associations [6]
The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) is a panel study of a representative cohort of older men and women living in England aged over 50 years [48]
Summary
Work-related stress is one of the key factors resulting in negative employee outcomes such as mental ill-health (e.g., depressive disorders, anxiety, and other stress related conditions) [1,2], disability, and early labour market exit [3]. Biological stress processes are suggested to underpin the associations between work related stressors and health [4,5]. Much of the research on the biological consequences of work related stress has been cross-sectional [5], with almost no studies that have examined the cumulative effect of work related stressors over a working lifetime on biological stress processes. If greater exposure to work-related stressors over a working lifetime is associated with more adverse levels of biological stress responses, this is stronger evidence that work-related stress negatively affects physiological health compared to cross-sectional associations [6]. Most of the component studies of the meta-analyses were based on a single measurement episode of work stress
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