The Relationship Between Job Stress and Urinary Cytokines in Healthy Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Cytokines such as angiogenin (ANG) and interleukin (IL-8) have been shown to be related to depressive symptoms and inflammatory diseases like coronary heart disease. They may thus be used as stress biomarkers to identify and prevent health problems. To investigate the relationship between cytokines and nurses' job-related stress, levels of urinary ANG and IL-8 were measured in healthy female hospital nurses in Japan. The level of job-related stress of the subjects was evaluated using the Nursing Stress Scale (NSS), with the participants being classified into high- or low-stress groups for each subscale according to their scores. The participants' subjective psychological states were assessed using the Profile of Mood States--Short Form Japanese version (POMS-SFJ). Urinary ANG, IL-8, and cortisol levels and subjective psychological states for two groups were compared for each NSS subscale. The fatigue and depression scores of POMS-SFJ subscales in the present study were higher than those of the general healthy Japanese population. Based on the mean score of the combined participants, nurses were experiencing the highest stress related to the pressure of having responsibility for patients' life support care (PPLC). Nurses reporting high levels of stress related to PPLC and conflict with physicians had high levels of urinary ANG. Urinary ANG levels may thus be associated with high levels of job stress.

Increased Plasma Angiogenin Level is Associated and May Contribute to Decreased T‐Cell Zeta‐Chain Expression in Hemodialysis Patients

“…For example, the low molecular weight of angiogenin permits its glomerular filtration and then its uptake by renal tubular cells or its clearance. In accordance with the above, angiogenin has been detected in the urine of healthy individuals (36). Thus, besides inflammation that increases angiogenin expression, impaired renal function may contribute to its accumulation.…”

Vegetarian diets are associated with healthy mood states: a cross-sectional study in Seventh Day Adventist adults

“…Based on published POMS normative scores (total 14.8 to 20.3)[26], the VEG participants reported a more favorable mood state relative to OMN participants (0.10 ± 1.99 vs 15.33 ± 3.10 respectively, p = .007). Interestingly, recent investigations in healthy adult populations directly link POMS scores (range for mean population scores in these trials, 1.5 to 7.0) with markers of poor health outcomes including reduced flow-mediated dilation, metabolic syndrome, and job-related stress [29-31]. This interrelationship between health, mood, and diet patterns deserves further study.…”

Intercorrelation between Immunological Biomarkers and Job Stress Indicators among Female Nurses: A 9-Month Longitudinal Study

“…Based on exploratory longitudinal study with repeated measures analysis, we found that nurses who experienced high levels of stress presented with lower levels of white blood cell (WBC) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, as well as higher levels of total salivary immunoglobulin A (sIgA) with statistical significance. Similarly, several studies were conducted to investigate the relationship between nurses’ job stress and immunological biomarkers ( 6 , 7 , 14 – 19 ). In observational studies exploring the job-related stress factors, nurses are considered to be one of the most appropriate subjects since (1) work-related stress level of nurses is relatively high; (2) job satisfaction is relatively lower than other occupational groups; and (3) recruitment of participants and data collection is more cooperative than other occupations.…”