The Influence of Work and Home-Related Stress on the Levels and Diurnal Variation of Ambulatory Blood Pressure and Neurohumoral Factors in Employed Women.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of self-reported perceived stress at work and home on the levels, variation and co-variation of ambulatory blood pressure (BP), pulse rate (PR) and urinary catecholamine, cortisol, and aldosterone excretion measured at work, home and during sleep in women employed outside the home. The subjects of the study were 134 women (mean age 34.4 +/- 9.6 years, range 18 to 64 years) who were employed in managerial, technical or clerical positions at the same work place. Perceived stress at work and home was self-reported on a scale from 0 (low) to 10 (high). BP, PR and the urinary rates of excretion of epinephrine, norepinephrine, cortisol and aldosterone were averaged in the daily work environment from 11 AM to 3 PM, in the daily home environment from approximately 6 PM to 10 PM, and during sleep from approximately 10 PM to 6 AM the following morning. The results showed that systolic and diastolic BP (SBP and DBP) and the rates of urinary catecholamine, cortisol, and aldosterone excretion measured in the work environment were significantly higher than corresponding measurements taken in the home environment. SBP measured at work was also positively correlated with the difference in perceived stress between work and home (p < 0.05). PR (p < 0.001) and the rate of urinary norepinephrine excretion (p < 0.05) measured in the home environment were positively correlated with stress at home. When the subjects were divided into groups based on whether the work or home environment was perceived to be most stressful, women reporting greater stress at work (n=85) had higher work SBP (p < 0.005), work DBP (p < 0.05), and sleep SBP (p < 0.005) than women who perceived the home environment to be more stressful (n=34). There were no differences in the urinary hormonal excretion rates between these perceived-stress groups. Among women with greater perceived stress at home, the home-stress score was positively correlated with sleep SBP level (r = 0.310, p < 0.05), its variation (SD of sleep SBP: r = 0.402, p < 0.01) and home pulse rate ( r= 0.414, p < 0.01). These findings suggest that among employed women, work stress may increase ambulatory BP levels throughout the day, while home stress may induce additional sympathetic activation at home. In addition, they also show that among employed women who perceive greater stress at home than at work, higher home stress levels may also elevate sleep BP levels.

Regular slow-breathing exercise effects on blood pressure and breathing patterns at rest

“…That the effects of DGB on daytime BP in women were related to decreases in autonomic arousal is also consistent with the results of a previous study with women showing that acute increases in BP in the workplace were accompanied by increases in perceived stress and urinary catecholamines. 15 The findings in this study do not, however, support the view that regular practice of DGB has effects on mediators of long-term BP level. According to Guyton's formulation of hypertension pathogenesis, neither changes in cardiac output or peripheral resistance that accompany changes in sympathetic nervous system activity can result in long-term changes in BP because of the 'infinite' ability of the kidneys to adjust blood volume up or down to maintain BP around its set point.…”

Is there a link between hyperuricemia, morning blood pressure surge, and non-dipping blood pressure pattern in metabolic syndrome patients?

“…This decrease is under the influence of psychosocial, behavioral, and neurohumoral (sympathetic nervous system, renin-angiotensin system) factors. [2][3][4] Hypertensive patients usually have a blunted nocturnal decrease, or even increase, in BP during sleep. This has been reported to increase the risk for cardiovascular diseases.…”

Association between work-related psychological stress and arterial stiffness measured by brachial-ankle pulse-wave velocity in young Japanese males from an information service company

“…Third, most of the previous job stress studies investigated only specific risk factors of interest without adjusting for CVD risk factors. The CVD risk factors considered were serum cholesterol (15,16), smoking (16), hemoglobin A1c (17), and blood pressure (18,19). In various models, additional factors for personal characteristics such as type A behavior (20,21) and hostility (22) have been used to assess work-related stress in CVD-prone workers since stress perception may differ among workers.…”