Perceived job stress and sleep-related breathing disturbance in Japanese male workers

To examine the association of job stress with sleep-related breathing disturbance (SBD), a cross-sectional sample of 1940 males aged 17–83 (mean 45) years in 292 small and medium-sized enterprises in Japan were surveyed by means of a self-administered questionnaire. Perceived job stress was evaluated by the Japanese version of the Generic Job Stress Questionnaire developed by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which included 13 job stress variables. Participants were divided into thirds according to their job stress scores. SBD was assessed by the question “Have you ever felt difficulty breathing during sleep or has anyone in your family told you that you have such difficulty?” SBD was defined as presence of symptoms more than once a month. Risk of SBD through job stress was estimated using logistic regression with odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) as measures of association. Prevalence of study-defined SBD was 6.7%. Participants who perceived the lowest level of social support from supervisors, and highest levels of job future ambiguity, interpersonal conflict at the workplace, job dissatisfaction, variance in workload, and quantitative workload had significantly increased risk of SBD after adjusting for potential confounders. High depressive symptoms, as measured by Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale scores of 16 or higher, were also significantly associated with increased SDB. Although the results should be considered preliminary because of the self-reporting and cross-sectional design, data suggest that exposure to high job stress could be a possible risk factor for developing or aggravating SBD. Results also indicate that job stress should be considered when evaluating SBD in occupational and clinical settings.