Objectives
Earlier findings suggest that social stress such as abusive supervision may promote pain. In the present study we examine the possible moderating role of genetic variability in the NRCAM gene in this process.
Methods
The data were collected through a national survey drawn from the National Central Employee Register by Statistics Norway. A total of 1,205 individuals returned both the questionnaire and the saliva kit. Abusive supervision was scored by a 5-item version of the Tepper’s 2,000 scale. Headache was measured on a four-category scale; ‘not bothered,’ ‘a little bothered,’ ‘considerably bothered’, ‘seriously bothered’. Genotyping with regards to NRCAM rs2300043 was carried out using Taqman assay. Ordinal logistic regression was used to analyse the data.
Results
For males exposed to abusive supervision, those carrying the rs2300043 CC genotype reported the highest levels of headache. Women showed a trend towards the opposite pattern. Women with the rs2300043 CC genotype seem to have a weaker effect of abusive supervision regarding reported headache than their male counterparts with the CC genotype when exposed to abusive supervision.
Conclusions
The present results indicated that the association between abusive supervision and headache in men with the NRCAM rs2300043 C allele was stronger than in other men. This suggests that the NRCAM genotype in men is important for the tolerance of social stress e.g., repeated negative acts from a superior. In contrast, a trend, though non-significant, towards the opposite pattern was observed in women. Our result suggests that the NRCAM genotype in men manifestly affects stress-induced pain such as headache.
Objectives
Previous findings suggest that abusive supervision, i.e., subordinates’ perceptions of their supervisor’s behaviours as hostile (excluding physical aggression), may increase the risk of health complaints. In addition, recent data suggest that the FKBP5 genotype rs9470080 important in the regulation of cortisol release, influences the same outcome. Adding to this complexity, different health complaints often co-occur. The present study aimed to (1) uncover patterns of pain complaints and insomnia symptoms by using latent class analysis, (2) determine whether abusive supervision or FKBP5 rs9470080 was associated with these patterns, and (3) examine the interaction between abusive supervision and FKBP5 genotype regarding pain and insomnia symptoms.
Methods
The data was collected through a national probability survey of 5,000 employees drawn from the National Central Employee Register by Statistics Norway. Abusive supervision was measured by a 5-item version of the Tepper’s 2000 scale. Pain and insomnia symptoms were measured by 5 items reflecting pain and 3 items reflecting insomnia. The FKBP5 rs9470080 genotyping was carried out using TaqMan assay.
Results
A total of 1,226 participants returned the questionnaire and the saliva kit sample. Based on these the latent class analyses revealed four classes based on response patterns of pain and insomnia symptoms. In the regression analysis, abusive supervision was a significant predictor for the response patterns. However, neither the FKBP5 nor the interaction between abusive supervision and FKBP5 showed significant contributions.
Conclusions
In conclusion, awareness of the association between abusive supervision and the revealed four pain- and insomnia subgroups, and what separates them, may be important for prognosis and an optimal follow-up for those affected.
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