Chronic stress in young adults

Herrera-Clavijo, Ronald (2018): Chronic stress in young adults: associations between occupation, type of job and greenness exposure with job-related chronic stress in young Germans adults. Dissertation, LMU München: Medizinische Fakultät

Abstract

Introduction: Job-related chronic stress is a mental health problem that could appear during life. High levels of chronic stress bring different health related complications. Populations like students and young adults are more vulnerable to high levels of job-related chronic stress, specifically those in the transition from school life to university or job life. Moreover, certain professions trend to increase the levels of stress in workers. However, studies comparing types of jobs and job-related chronic stress in young adults are scarce, as are those comparing university students with non-student equals. Environmental factors not directly related to working places could also affect mental health in young adults at early stages during working life. Access to green environments has shown significant benefits in mental health in young people and in workers. There are few prospective studies relating exposure to green environments with job-related chronic stress in young adults. Using a German cohort of young adults transitioning from school to university/job life, we compared job-related chronic stress levels among university students and their non-student counterparts, different occupational groups and different levels of greenness around their homes. Methods: We used data from a population-based cohort in Munich and Dresden two dimensions of chronic stress at university or job: Work overload and work discontent as outcomes, and job history and type of occupation as exposure variables. Using residential addresses, we calculated residential greenness as the environmental exposure. We considered data on socio-demographics, stress outside the workplace and environmental variables as potential confounders. Ordinal generalized estimating equations models were used to study associations between the two dimensions of job-related chronic stress and occupation, type of job and levels of residential greenness controlling for potential confounders. Missing data were handled using multiple imputation techniques. Results: At the second follow-up, we used data from 1688 participants. Students, compared to employees, reported a more substantial increase in work overload (adjusted odds ratio (OR): 1.33; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.07, 1.67). We did not find statistically significant differences between work dis-content and the groups. Regarding the environmental exposure, we found an association between higher levels of greenness (quartile 4 vs. quartile 1) as well as less work discontent (OR 0.89; 95% CI 0.80 to 0.99) and less work overload (OR 0.87; 95% CI 0.78 to 0.96). Conclusions: Young adults could experience more work overload when transitioning from school to university/job life, and university students experienced the most substantial increase. Additionally, residential greenness exposures are inversely associated with two types of job-related chronic stress. We believe that stress-relieving interventions targeted to university students and health professionals, as well as public policies to promote access to greenness, could benefit mental health in young adults transitioning from school to job/university.

• Dokumententyp: Dissertationen (Dissertation, LMU München)
• Themengebiete: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften ; 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften > 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
• Fakultäten: Medizinische Fakultät
• Sprache der Hochschulschrift: Englisch
• Datum der mündlichen Prüfung: 18. Dezember 2018
• 1. Bericht­erstatter:in: Radon, Katja