Association between perceived stress and health-risk behaviours in workers

ABSTRACT

Individuals who experience stress can engage in health-risk behaviours that may decrease work performance. The aim of this study was to determine perceived stress levels in Brazilian workers and verify whether perceived stress was associated with health-risk behaviours. Stress levels of 1,270 workers (1,019 men, 251 women) were assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale. The health-risk behaviours investigated were low intake of vegetables and fruits, daily smoking, high-risk alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, and the presence of obesity. The Student’s t-test or one-way analysis of variance was used to assess differences in stress levels. Ordinal regression was used to determine the association between the degrees of stress and health-risk behaviours. Women had higher perceived stress levels than men. In addition, perceived stress levels were higher in those who had low socioeconomic status, were unmarried, had a negative perception of their health, were smokers, or had obesity. Smoking and the presence of two or more health-risk behaviours were associated with 1.84 (95% CI: 1.24–2.73) times and 1.49 (95% CI: 1.18–1.89) times higher odds of experiencing higher degrees of stress, respectively. In women, such an association was observed with the presence of obesity (odds ratio: 2.0; 95% CI: 1.01–3.98).

KEYWORDS:

• Psychological stress
• health-risk behaviours
• eating
• physical activity
• smoking
• alcohol
• obesity
• occupational groups

Acknowledgments

This article is based on data from the HealthRise Vitória da Conquista study conducted by the Urban Health Observatory at the Multidisciplinary Health Institute, Federal University of Bahia, in collaboration with the Vitória da Conquista Industry Social Service.

Data Availability Statement

The data that supports the findings of the study are not available. Please, if necessary, request from the corresponding author, MLC.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

The HealthRise Vitória da Conquista study was funded by the Medtronic Foundation (Grant Agreement 47535), through the HealthRise programme, a global initiative led by the Abt Associates and Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation to improve access to chronic illness care for individuals in underserved communities; Medtronic Foundation [HealthRise Program / 47535].