Effect of occupational stress on recurrent spontaneous abortion in women of childbearing age

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the influence of occupational stress on recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) in women of childbearing age. Methods: From January to December, 2017, 75 working women of childbearing age (25-35 years) who were admitted to a provisional hospital in Lanzhou, China and diagnosed with RSA were assigned into patient group. At a 1∶4 ratio, 300 age-matched working women who had normal first pregnancy were randomly selected as controls. A case-control study was conducted by a self-made questionnaire and the effort-reward imbalance scale. The impact of occupational stress on RSA in women of childbearing age was analyzed by evaluation of occupational harmful factors, regularity, effort-reward ratio, and sleep quality. Results: There were significant differences in the distribution of sleep, daily exercise, night shift, extrinsic-effort/low-reward score, and effort/low-reward score between the patient group and the control group (χ(2)=7.867, P<0.05; χ(2)=7.377, P<0.05; χ(2)=3.714, P<0.05; χ(2)=6.651, P<0.05; χ(2)=8.556, P<0.05) . With controlled factors such as general conditions and living habits, logistic regression analysis showed that poor sleep quality and high-effort/low-reward were risk factors for RSA (odds ratio[OR]=1.462, 95% confidence interval[CI]: 1.032~2.073; OR=3.253, 95%CI: 1.169~9.053) . A regular work was a protective factor against RSA (OR=0.644, 95%CI: 0.438-0.946) . Conclusion: In occupational stress, irregular working hours, lack of sleep, and high-effort/low-reward are risk factors for RSA. Working women of childbearing age should ensure adequate sleep, pay attention to effort-reward balance, and make a regular work schedule.