Correlation between Occupational Stress, Lifestyle, and Hyperglycemia among Obese and Non-Obese Middle-Aged Japanese Male Workers

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify the correlation between stress, lifestyle, and hyperglycemia among middle-aged Japanese male workers. We also analyzed the obese (OB) and non-obese (non- OB) groups pertaining to the risk of hyperglycemia. A total of 353 male employees aged between 50 and 59 years taking health checkup sat a company in Japan were examined. The data were collected using validated scales of occupational stress and medical examination. Of the 353 employees, 335 (effective response rate 95%) were analyzed. “Support from colleagues” and “reward from work” reported by the OB group were lower than the non-OB group. The items “eating until satiety” and “having greasy meal often” were significantly more common in the OB group than in the non-OB group. There was a significant correlation between less sleep time and hyperglycemia in the OB group than in the non-OB group. The non-OB group reported more overtime hours than the OB group. Hyperglycemia in the non-OB group was positively correlated with long working hours, “workload,” and “mental workload.” The results indicated that the OB group would benefit from lifestyle interventions, for example, improvement in sleep time and eating habits may prevent hyperglycemia and eventually in obesity. Furthermore, it was suggested that stress in response to “workload” and “mental workload” owing to long working hours leads to hyperglycemia in the non-OB group. Therefore, the improvement of the workplace environment, reducing the number of hours at work, and stress management are required to prevent hyperglycemia in the non-OB group.