Detection Of Physiological Stress Research Articles

Work environment risk factors causing day-to-day stress in occupational settings: a systematic review

BackgroundWhile chronic workplace stress is known to be associated with health-related outcomes like mental and cardiovascular diseases, research about day-to-day occupational stress is limited. This systematic review includes studies assessing stress exposures as work environment risk factors and stress outcomes, measured via self-perceived questionnaires and physiological stress detection. These measures needed to be assessed repeatedly or continuously via Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) or similar methods carried out in real-world work environments, to be included in this review. The objective was to identify work environment risk factors causing day-to-day stress.MethodsThe search strategies were applied in seven databases resulting in 11833 records after deduplication, of which 41 studies were included in a qualitative synthesis. Associations were evaluated by correlational analyses.ResultsThe most commonly measured work environment risk factor was work intensity, while stress was most often framed as an affective response. Measures from these two dimensions were also most frequently correlated with each other and most of their correlation coefficients were statistically significant, making work intensity a major risk factor for day-to-day workplace stress.ConclusionsThis review reveals a diversity in methodological approaches in data collection and data analysis. More studies combining self-perceived stress exposures and outcomes with physiological measures are warranted.

Non-invasive monitoring of adrenocortical activity in captive African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) by measuring faecal glucocorticoid metabolites

Measurement of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGMs) has become a useful and widely-accepted method for the non-invasive evaluation of stress in vertebrates. In this study we assessed the adrenocortical activity of five captive African Penguins (Spheniscus demersus) by means of FGM evaluation following a biological stressor, i.e. capture and immobilization. In addition, we detected individual differences in secretion of FGMs during a stage of the normal biological cycle of penguins, namely the breeding period, without any external or induced causes of stress. Our results showed that FGM concentrations peaked 5.5–8h after the induced stress in all birds, and significantly decreased within 30h. As predictable, the highest peak of FGMs (6591ng/g) was reached by the youngest penguin, which was at its first experience with the stressor. This peak was 1.8–2.7-fold higher compared to those of the other animals habituated to the stimulus. For the breeding period, our results revealed that the increase in FGMs compared to ordinary levels, and the peaks of FGMs, varied widely depending on the age and mainly on the reproductive state of the animal. The bird which showed the lowest peak (2518ng/g) was an old male that was not in a reproductive state at the time of the study. Higher FGM increases and peaks were reached by the two birds which were brooding (male: 5552%, 96,631ng/g; female: 1438%, 22,846ng/g) and by the youngest bird (1582%, 39,700ng/g). The impact of the reproductive state on FGM levels was unexpected compared to that produced by the induced stress. The EIA used in this study to measure FGM levels proved to be a reliable tool for assessing individual and biologically-relevant changes in FGM concentrations in African Penguin. Moreover, this method allowed detection of physiological stress during the breeding period, and identification of individual differences in relation to the reproductive status. The increase in FGM levels as a response to capture and immobilization suggests that the measured metabolites are appropriate indicators of adrenal activity in these birds.