A cross-sectional study of workplace social capital and blood pressure: a multilevel analysis at Japanese manufacturing companies.

Fujino, Yoshihisa; Kubo, Tatsuhiko; Kunimoto, Masamizu; Tabata, Hidetoshi; Tsuchiya, Takuto; Kadowaki, Koji; Nakamura, Takehiro; Oyama, Ichiro · BMJ Open · 2013

cross_sectional · Level IV

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Abstract

We examined the contextual effect of workplace social capital on systolic blood pressure (SBP). Cross-sectional. A conglomerate from 58 workplaces in Japan. Of the 5844 workers at a Japanese conglomerate from 58 workplaces, 5368 were recruited. Individuals who received drugs for hypertension (n=531) and who lacked information on any variable (n=167) were excluded from the analyses, leaving 4735 individuals (3281 men and 1454 women) for inclusion. Systolic blood pressure. The contextual effect of workplace social capital on SBP was examined using a multilevel regression analysis with a random intercept. Coworker support had a contextual effect at the workplace level (coefficient=-1.97, p=0.043), while a lack of trust for coworkers (coefficient=0.27, p=0.039) and lack of helpfulness from coworkers were associated with SBP (coefficient=0.28, p=0.002). The present study suggested that social capital at the workplace level has beneficial effects on SBP.