The relationship between occupational stress and serum glycosylated hemoglobin A1c level

Objective To explore the relationship between occupational stress and serum glycosylated hemoglobin Alc(HbAlc) level.Methods A cross-sectional epidemiological study was conducted in 115 dispatchers.The occupational stressors,personality,occupational strain and coping with stress were measured using Occupational Stress Instrument.Serum HbAlc levels were measured by stratographic analysis of cation exchange resin.Results Serum HbAlc level(6.63％±1.93％) in the shifiwork group was significantly higher than that(5.73％± 1.57％) in the daily relay work group(P＜0.05).Spearman correlation analyses showed the positive correlation between type A behavior and serum HbAlc level(r=0.221 ),the negative correlation between organizational commitment and serum HbA l c level (r=-0.218).Variance analyses revealed that serum HbA l c levels among high,middle and low job requirement groups and job control groups were significantly different (P＜0.05).There were significant differences of serum HbAlc levels among different type A behavior,internal control,susceptibility of stress and organizational commitment groups (P＜0.05).Stepwise regression analyses indicated that shifiwork affects obviously serum HbAlc level,internal control and job future were the predictors of serum HbAlc level(R2=0.082).Conclusion Serum HbAlc may be a potential biomarker in field investigation of the effects of occupational stress. Key words: Stress; Hemoglobin A, glycosylated;  Questionnaires