The Relationship between Job Stress and Dyslipidemia in Express Bus Drivers

Lee, Nam Soo; Lee, Kyung Jae; Kim, Joo Ja; Lee, Jin Woo

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
To examine whether or not there is a relationship between job stress and dyslipidemia in male express bus drivers.
METHODS
The study subjects were 301 male express bus drivers. The data was obtained from annual health surveillance. A structured questionnaire was used to assess sociodemographics, health-related behaviors and job characteristics. Job stress was measured by the Korean Occupational Stress Scale-Short Form. A measure of blood lipid levels, comprised of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, was dichotomized and categorized into 'high' or 'low'. Multiple logistic regression modeling was used to determine an association between job stress and dyslipidemia, with blood lipid level as the dependent variable.
RESULTS
We found that high job demand was associated with high total cholesterol (OR 3.25, 95% CI 1.18-8.95) and high LDL-cholesterol (OR 4.14, 95% CI 1.18-14.44) and lack of job control was associated with low HDL-cholesterol (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.04-3.56).
CONCLUSION
These results indicate that job demand and lack of job control were associated with dyslipidemia in male express bus drivers. A job stress management program that emphasizes job demand and lack of job control is needed to prevent dyslipidemia in male express bus drivers.