High job strain is associated with inflammatory markers of disease in young long-haul bus drivers

摘要

Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease. The study was aimed to investigate the association between job strain and inflammation markers and to examine factors contributing to high strain. The long-haul bus drivers (n = 825) were recruited from a Taiwanese transportation company. The psychosocial work environment was measured by a validated job content questionnaire (JCQ). Plasma high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and homocysteine (Hcy) were analyzed as inflammation markers. Job strain effects and its interaction with age were analyzed by logistic regression. Explained variance (Nagelkerke R square) was applied to select important stressors. The crude and adjusted odds ratio (OR) for the effect of high strain on high hs-CRP and Hcy were not significant. However, there was significant interaction between job strain and age (p = .014). The significantly increased risk of high strain on high hs-CRP was found among drivers younger than 35 years old (OR = 2.71), but not in driver groups age 35 to 49 and older than 50. The contributing factors to high strain were varied among the 3 age groups. The 3 stressors found for young drivers were having rest time less than 8 hours between 2 shifts, being physically inactive during leisure time, and frequent driving more than 12 hours a day. Job strain interacted with age influenced hs-CRP levels. The risk of inflammatory disease markers only increased in high strained group of young drivers. Appropriate work shift systems should be implemented to increase off-duty time, reduce sleep restrictions, and increase physical activity during leisure time.