High job stress evaluated using the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire as an independent risk factor for hypertension among a Japanese male occupational population

Objective: Stress and working environments are risk factors for hypertension. A new occupational health policy called the Stress Check Program was started in Japan in 2015. Therefore, we clarified whether the presence or absence of high job stress (HJS) as determined using the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire (BJSQ) is related to the comorbidity of hypertension.

Methods: The results of a single year's BJSQ and medical examinations were investigated for 18 629 active Japanese male office workers who were 30-59 years old. The presence or absence of HJS was assessed using the BJSQ and investigated using a personal computer in a medical interview. Furthermore, the relationships between HJS and hypertension comorbidity were analyzed.

Results: The mean age of the subjects was 43.8 ± 10.3 years old, and the proportion of subjects with HJS was 10%. After adjustment for age and lifestyle habits, HJS was associated with a risk of hypertension comorbidity (odds ratio, 1.18; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-1.36; P = 0.022). HJS was a significant hypertensive comorbidity factor.

Conclusion: HJS measured using the BJSQ independently contributed to hypertension comorbidity among male office workers.