| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
ORIGINAL ARTICLES |
From the Département de médecine sociale et préventive (C.B., N.L., B.M., M.V.), Groupe de recherche en épidémiologie (C.B., N.L., A.M., B.M.), Groupe interdisciplinaire de recherche sur l’organisation, la santé et la sécurité du travail (C.B., N.L., J.M., M.V.), Équipe de pharmaco-épidémiologie, Faculté de pharmacie, (J.M., A.M.), and Département de médecine (A.M.), Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada.
Address reprint requests to: Chantal Brisson, PhD, Groupe de recherche en épidémiologie, CHA–Pavillon Saint-Sacrement, 1050, chemin Sainte-Foy, Québec (Québec), Canada, G1S 4L8. E:mail: chantal.brisson{at}gre.ulaval.ca
OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to determine whether large family responsibilities and their combination with high job strain were associated with an increase in ambulatory blood pressure (BP) among white-collar women.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a stratified random sample of 199 white-collar women with or without children who were employed full time in jobs involving high or low strain. These women were selected from a population of 3183 women of all ages, employed in eight organizations in Quebec City, Canada. Subjects wore an ambulatory BP monitor for 24 hours during a working day. Mean BPs were calculated. Different measures of family responsibilities were used, based on the number of children and their ages, and domestic work. Job strain was measured using the Job Content Questionnaire recommended by Karasek.
RESULTS: Family responsibility measures were significantly related to diurnal BP among women holding a university degree (N = 69). Indeed, women having large family responsibilities had increases in systolic and diastolic BPs of 2.7 to 5.7/1.8 to 4.0 mm Hg (p 
.05). Among women holding a university degree, increases in diurnal systolic and diastolic BPs reached 8.1 to 10.9/5.5 to 7.1 mm Hg (p .01) among women having both large family responsibilities and high job strain. These results were independent of confounders. There was no significant association among women without a university degree (N = 130).
CONCLUSIONS: Large family responsibilities were associated with significant increases in diurnal systolic and diastolic BPs among white-collar women holding a university degree. In these women, the combined exposure of large family responsibilities and high job strain tended to have a greater effect on BP than the exposure to only one of these factors.
Key Words: blood pressure, • children, • education, • family responsibilities, • job strain, • women.
Abbreviations: BP = blood pressure.
This article has been cited by other articles:
 |
|
 |
|
  C. Staland-Nyman, K. Alexanderson, and G. Hensing Associations between strain in domestic work and self-rated health: A study of employed women in Sweden Scand J Public Health, January 1, 2008; 36(1): 21 - 27. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. H. Kroenke, D. Spiegelman, J. Manson, E. S. Schernhammer, G. A. Colditz, and I. Kawachi Work Characteristics and Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes in Women Am. J. Epidemiol., January 15, 2007; 165(2): 175 - 183. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 T. D. Allen and J. Armstrong Further Examination of the Link Between Work-Family Conflict and Physical Health: The Role of Health-Related Behaviors American Behavioral Scientist, May 1, 2006; 49(9): 1204 - 1221. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S Radi, T Lang, V Lauwers-Cances, E Diene, G Chatellier, L Larabi, R De Gaudemaris, and for the IHPAF group Job constraints and arterial hypertension: different effects in men and women: the IHPAF II case control study Occup. Environ. Med., October 1, 2005; 62(10): 711 - 717. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 G. Verlander Female Physicians: Balancing Career and Family Acad Psychiatry, December 1, 2004; 28(4): 331 - 336. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Nordenmark Balancing work and family demands: Do increasing demands increase strain? A longitudinal study Scand J Public Health, December 1, 2004; 32(6): 450 - 455. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 K. S. Thomas, R. A. Nelesen, M. G. Ziegler, W. A. Bardwell, and J. E. Dimsdale Job Strain, Ethnicity, and Sympathetic Nervous System Activity Hypertension, December 1, 2004; 44(6): 891 - 896. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 K. C. Light Hypertension and the Reactivity Hypothesis: The Next Generation Psychosom Med, September 1, 2001; 63(5): 744 - 746. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. A. Matthews, K. Raikkonen, S. A. Everson, J. D. Flory, C. A. Marco, J. F. Owens, and C. E. Lloyd Do the Daily Experiences of Healthy Men and Women Vary According to Occupational Prestige and Work Strain? Psychosom Med, May 1, 2000; 62(3): 346 - 353. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Steptoe, M. Cropley, J. Griffith, and C. Kirschbaum Job Strain and Anger Expression Predict Early Morning Elevations in Salivary Cortisol Psychosom Med, March 1, 2000; 62(2): 286 - 292. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 Other Articles Noted Evid. Based Nurs., October 1, 1999; 2(4): 105 - 112. [Full Text]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
