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Psychosocial Stressors at Work and Ambulatory Blood Pressure

  • Psychological Aspects of Cardiovascular Diseases (A Steptoe, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Psychosocial stressors at work from the demand-latitude and effort-reward imbalance models are adverse exposures affecting about 20–25% of workers in industrialized countries. This review aims to summarize evidence on the effect of these stressors on blood pressure (BP).

Recent Findings

Three systematic reviews have recently documented the effect of these psychosocial stressors at work on BP. Among exposed workers, statistically significant BP increases ranging from 1.5 to 11 mmHg have been observed in prospective studies using ambulatory BP (ABP). Recent studies using ABP have shown a deleterious effect of these psychosocial stressors at work on masked hypertension as well as on blood pressure control in pharmacologically treated patients.

Summary

Evidence on the effect of these psychosocial stressors on BP supports the relevance to tackle these upstream factors for primary prevention and to reduce the burden of poor BP control. There is a need for increased public health and clinical awareness of the occupational etiology of high BP, hypertension, and poor BP control.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Social and Preventive Medicine Department, Laval University, 1050 Avenue de la Médecine Université Laval, Quebec, Quebec, G1V 0A6, Canada

    Xavier Trudel & Chantal Brisson

  2. Axe santé des populations et pratiques optimales en santé, CHU de Québec-Université Laval, 1050 Chemin Ste-Foy, Quebec, Quebec, G1S 4L8, Canada

    Xavier Trudel

  3. Institute for Work and Health, 481 University Ave, Suite 800, Toronto, ON, M5G 2E9, Canada

    Mahée Gilbert-Ouimet

  4. Department of Medicine, Laval University, 1050 Avenue de la Médecine Université Laval, Quebec, Quebec, G1V 0A6, Canada

    Alain Milot

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  1. Xavier Trudel
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  2. Chantal Brisson
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Correspondence to Xavier Trudel.

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Xavier Trudel, Chantal Brisson, Mahée Gilbert-Ouimet, and Alain Milot declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Trudel, X., Brisson, C., Gilbert-Ouimet, M. et al. Psychosocial Stressors at Work and Ambulatory Blood Pressure. Curr Cardiol Rep 20, 127 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11886-018-1070-z

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