Association of occupational stress with waking, diurnal, and bedtime cortisol response in police officers
Dados Bibliográficos
| AUTOR(ES) | |
|---|---|
| AFILIAÇÃO(ÕES) | Bioanalytics Branch, Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morgantown West Virginia, Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Health Professions State University of New York at Buffalo Buffalo New York, Toxicology and Molecular Biology Branch, Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morgantown West Virginia |
| ANO | Não informado |
| TIPO | Artigo |
| DOI | 10.1002/ajhb.23296 |
| ADICIONADO EM | Não informado |
Resumo
ObjectivePolice officers have higher rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality than the U.S. general population. Officers are exposed to conventional and unexpected workplace stressors. The hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis plays a major role responding to stressor exposure by releasing cortisol. Prolonged release or excessive levels may result in disease. Our study investigated cross‐sectional associations between self‐reported work stress and various salivary cortisol parameters.MethodsA total of 285 police officers (76.5% male) from the Buffalo Cardio‐Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) Study (2004‐2009) completed the Spielberger Police Stress Survey, reporting frequency and severity of work events during the past month and year to calculate stress indices. Officers provided saliva samples to measure levels of cortisol secretion. Linear regression assessed associations between stress indices and various cortisol parameters, adjusted for age, gender, race/ethnicity, abdominal height, and smoking status.ResultsSignificant positive associations were observed between stress indices (overall stress, physical danger stress, and past‐month lack of support) and diurnal cortisol (AUCg: total area under the curve). Administrative, overall, and physical danger stress in the past year were significantly associated with the diurnal slope. Overall, administrative, and physical danger stress were significantly associated with bedtime levels. There were no significant associations between the stress indices and the awakening cortisol parameters.ConclusionsHigher stress ratings were related to blunted diurnal decline in cortisol, suggesting conventional and unexpected police stressors may result in HPA axis dysfunction. Future studies investigating possible associations between elevated cortisol and subclinical CVD are needed.