Affiliations: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Mount
Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA | Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, Mount
Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA | Division of Occupational & Environmental
Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA,
USA | Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Research, University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles,
CA, USA | Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences,
State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, USA
Note: [] Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute, Box 1030,
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY
10029-6574, USA. Tel.: +1 212 659 5617; Fax: +1 212 659 5615; E-mail:
[email protected]
Abstract: Over the past 20 years, an extensive body of research evidence has
documented that psychosocial work stressors are risk factors for hypertension
and cardiovascular disease. These stressors, which appear to be increasing in
prevalence, include job strain (the combination of psychological job demands
and low job control), imbalance between job efforts and rewards,
threat-avoidant vigilant work, and long work hours. This article reviews the
evidence linking these stressors with hypertension and CVD, and the
physiological and social psychological mechanisms underlying the associations.
Also described are methods for measuring work stressors and new, more accurate
techniques for measuring blood pressure. Finally, strategies for reducing work
stressors and preventing hypertension and CVD are reviewed. These include
clinical assessment, worksite health promotion, work organization
interventions, legal approaches and work site surveillance.
