Occupational stress and self-perceived oral health in Brazilian adults: a Pro-Saude study

Abstract

The scope of this study is to investigate the association between occupational stress and self-perception of oral health. Data were obtained through a self-administered questionnaire filled out in a Pró-Saúde Study by 3253 administrative technical staff from Rio de Janeiro's State University. Occupational stress was measured by means of a questionnaire elaborated in 1970 by Karasek, duly shortened by Thorell in 1988. Ordinal logistic regression was used for data analysis, subsequently adjusted for three blocks of variables. Workers exposed to high occupational demands and little occupational control and to passive work had higher chances of self-perception of worse oral health, when compared with those exposed to low occupational demands, there being no association observed in those exposed to active work. However, in the multiple regression model the following estimates were reduced in magnitude and lost statistical significance, namely high occupational demands and passive work. Workers exposed to high occupational demands revealed worse self-reported oral health, which seems to be partly explained by health behavior patterns, the presence of oral health problems and seeking dental services at longer intervals than once per year.

Impact of oral clinical problems on oral health‐related quality of life in brazilian children: a hierarchical approach

“…The impact within the physical domain of the OIDP was higher among those with malocclusion, at least one missing tooth, compromised periodontal conditions, need for dental treatment, dental pain, and dissatisfaction with their teeth and mouth. It is important to note that dental caries, as well as dissatisfaction with oral health, may be related to psychological impacts, such as stress 29 , which may cause individuals to adopt inappropriate behaviors that compromise their oral health status and augment its impacts. Furthermore, note also that although perceived need for care may be a subjective measure, it may impact dental status by stimulating a person to seek care from a dentist or other health professional 13,28 , a fact that can be further encouraged when there are also compromises in the psychological domain.…”

Relationships between occupational and behavioral parameters and oral health status

“…Previous research has revealed a variety of work-related oral health problems, including associations between declining work performance and temporo-mandibular joint related pain 1 ) , and frequent bruxism and working stress 2 ) . Moreover, other studies have revealed high levels of work-related stress in workers whose self-evaluation of oral health status was poor 3 ) .…”

Demandas psicológicas e controle do processo de trabalho de servidores de uma universidade pública

“…The formulation of the Demand-Control Model (DCM) quadrants was used to calculate the psychosocial stress at work, which defines the following categories: low-demand work (low demand and high control), reference group for psychosocial stress at work; passive work (low demand and low control), which can cause reduced ability to solve daily work problems; active work (high demand and high control) are those that enable the worker to develop competences and abilities in their work; high demand (high demand and low control), a group with the highest exposure to stress at work 2,5,10,11 . The scores of each realm were obtained by adding the scores of answers and, later, dividing them into two categories from the median, according to Alves et al 17 .…”

“…Currently, two different instruments in their respective Brazilian versions are used in the country for the Demand-Control Model, and they are: "Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ)" and the reduced scale called the Swedish Demand-Control-Social-Support Scale (DCS), developed by Theorell in 1988 2,4,5,8,9 . Stress at work is the result of the combination of high psychological demand, low work process control and low social support from peers and bosses at the workplace 2,[10][11][12] .…”