Job Stress and Subclinical Cardiovascular Disease: Cross-Sectional Results of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil).

Abstract

We aimed to evaluate the relationship between job stress and subclinical cardiovascular disease at ELSA-Brasil. We considered job stress domains (demand, skill discretion, decision authority, and social support) as independent variables and coronary artery calcium (CAC more than 0) and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT more than P75% as a continuous variable) as dependent ones. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were presented crude, with further adjustments for sociodemographic, cardiovascular risk factors, and lifestyle variables. Linear regression models were built for CIMT using the same covariates. Although significant associations were observed in the crude models, after multivariate adjustment CAC and CIMT were not significantly associated with demand, skill discretion, decision authority, and social support. Our results did not support an association between job stress and subclinical cardiovascular disease measured by CAC or CIMT.