Workplace bullying and the risk of cardiovascular disease and depression

Abstract

Aims: To examine exposure to workplace bullying as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and depression in employees. Methods: Logistic regression models were related to prospective data from two surveys in a cohort of 5432 hospital employees (601 men and 4831 women), aged 18-63 years. Outcomes were new reports of doctor diagnosed cardiovascular disease and depression during the two year follow up among those who were free from these diseases at baseline. Results: The prevalence of bullying was 5% in the first survey and 6% in the second survey. Two per cent reported bullying experiences in both surveys, an indication of prolonged bullying. After adjustment for sex, age, and income, the odds ratio of incident cardiovascular disease for victims of prolonged bullying compared to non-bullied employees was 2.3 (95% CI 1.2 to 4.6). A further adjustment for overweight at baseline attenuated the odds ratio to 1.6 (95% CI 0.8 to 3.5). The association between prolonged bullying and incident depression was significant, even after these adjustments (odds ratio 4.2, 95% CI 2.0 to 8.6). Conclusions: A strong association between workplace bullying and subsequent depression suggests that bullying is an aetiological factor for mental health problems. The victims of bullying also seem to be at greater risk of cardiovascular disease, but this risk may partly be attributable to overweight.

Workplace violence among Pennsylvania education workers: Differences among occupations

“…Recent work has demonstrated that WPV in the form of workplace bullying was highest among administrative and support workers (20%) compared to other workers (Keuskamp, Ziersch, Baum, & LaMontagne, 2011). Given that workplace bullying has been found to be associated with various negative outcomes including low job satisfaction, high stress, sleep disorders, and cardiovascular disease, it should be fully addressed in any WPV prevention program (Kivimäki, Elovainio, & Vahtera, 2000;Kivimaki et al, 2003;Vartia, 2001).…”

Workplace Bullying could Play Important Roles in the Relationships between Job Strain and Symptoms of Depression and Sleep Disturbance

“…Matthiesen and Einarsen reported that even the perpetrators of bullying, as well as targets and provocative victims of bullying, showed elevated levels of role stress in the form of unclear or conflicting demands and expectations regarding work tasks and daily work 14) . On the other hand, workplace bullying has been suggested to cause symptoms of depression [15][16][17][18][19][20][21] or suicide ideation 22) and sleep disturbance 23) . Therefore, we hypothesized that workplace bullying mediates the wellestablished relationships between job strain evaluated by the JDC model and symptoms of depression and sleep disturbance.…”

Acoso psicológico en el trabajo: revisión de la literatura y nuevas líneas de investigación

“…Sin embargo, al igual que con el resto de formas de estrés laboral, es posible que existan otras formas de causalidad, como la inversa o la reciproca. En este sentido, Kivimäki et al 57 , encontraron que un incremento en las conductas de acoso se relacionaba con mayores niveles de depresión dos años después, que a su vez contribuía a la aparición de un mayor número de conductas de acoso. De modo similar, en un reciente estudio longitudinal Nielsen et al 58 hallaron que existía una relación reciproca entre los problemas psicológicos y el acoso.…”