Skip to main content
PMC home page
The BMJ logoLink to The BMJ
. 1990 Sep 8;301(6750):461–466. doi: 10.1136/bmj.301.6750.461

Threat of unemployment and cardiovascular risk factors: longitudinal study of quality of sleep and serum cholesterol concentrations in men threatened with redundancy.

I Mattiasson 1, F Lindgärde 1, J A Nilsson 1, T Theorell 1
PMCID: PMC1663764  PMID: 2207398

Abstract

OBJECTIVE--To assess whether the threat of unemployment affects risk factors for cardiovascular disease. DESIGN--Longitudinal study of a cohort of middle aged shipyard workers followed up for a mean of 6.2 (SD 1.9) years and a group of controls observed for the same period. The first investigation took place during a period of relative economic stability for the shipyard and the second during the phase of its closure. SETTING--An age cohort health screening programme in Malmö, Sweden. PARTICIPANTS--715 Male shipyard workers and 261 age matched male controls. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Changes in 19 variables related to the risk of cardiovascular disease, and psychological variables, alcohol consumption, smoking, and dietary habits as assessed by questionnaire. RESULTS--Serum cholesterol concentrations increased more (mean 0.25 (SD 0.68) mmol/l v 0.08 (0.66) mmol/l) and serum calcium concentrations decreased less (-0.06 (0.10) mmol/l v -0.08 (0.09) mmol/l) in the shipyard workers than in the controls. A correlation was found between scores for sleep disturbance and changes in serum cholesterol concentration. In the whole series there was a greater increase in serum cholesterol concentrations among men threatened with unemployment (437/976; 44.8%) than among those who were not. In stepwise regression analysis the change in serum cholesterol concentration was correlated with changes in haemoglobin concentration, body weight, and serum triglyceride and calcium concentrations. A positive correlation was found between change in cholesterol concentration and change in blood pressure, indicating that the overall risk profile had worsened among men with increased serum cholesterol concentrations. CONCLUSIONS--Risk of unemployment increases the serum cholesterol concentration in middle aged men, the increase being more pronounced in those with sleep disturbance. The increase in serum cholesterol is related to changes in other established risk factors for cardiovascular disease. These findings might partly explain the excessive mortality due to cardiovascular disease recorded among the unemployed and people with sleep disturbance.

Full text

PDF
461

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Akerstedt T., Gillberg M. Experimentally displaced sleep: effects on sleepiness. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1982 Aug;54(2):220–226. doi: 10.1016/0013-4694(82)90163-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Akerstedt T., Torsvall L., Gillberg M. Sleepiness and shift work: field studies. Sleep. 1982;5 (Suppl 2):S95–106. doi: 10.1093/sleep/5.s2.s95. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Beale N., Nethercott S. Job-loss and health--the influence of age and previous morbidity. J R Coll Gen Pract. 1986 Jun;36(287):261–264. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Berntorp K., Trell E., Thorell J., Hood B. Relation between plasma insulin and blood glucose in a cross-sectional population study of the oral glucose tolerance test. Acta Endocrinol (Copenh) 1983 Apr;102(4):549–556. doi: 10.1530/acta.0.1020549. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Brenner M. H. Economic change, alcohol consumption and heart disease mortality in nine industrialized countries. Soc Sci Med. 1987;25(2):119–132. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(87)90380-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Bryant H. U., Story J. A., Yim G. K. Assessment of endogenous opioid mediation in stress-induced hypercholesterolemia in the rat. Psychosom Med. 1988 Nov-Dec;50(6):576–585. doi: 10.1097/00006842-198811000-00003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Dimsdale J. E., Herd J. A. Variability of plasma lipids in response to emotional arousal. Psychosom Med. 1982 Nov;44(5):413–430. doi: 10.1097/00006842-198211000-00004. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kasl S. V., Cobb S., Brooks G. W. Changes in serum uric acid and cholesterol levels in men undergoing job loss. JAMA. 1968 Nov 11;206(7):1500–1507. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Kripke D. F., Simons R. N., Garfinkel L., Hammond E. C. Short and long sleep and sleeping pills. Is increased mortality associated? Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1979 Jan;36(1):103–116. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1979.01780010109014. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kristenson H., Trell E. Indicators of alcohol consumption: comparisons between a questionnaire (Mm-MAST), interviews and serum gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) in a health survey of middle-aged males. Br J Addict. 1982 Sep;77(3):297–304. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1982.tb02459.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. LINDBERG W., NATVIG H., RYGH A., SVENDSEN K. Høyde- og vektundersøkelser hos voksne menn og kvinner; forslag til nye norske høyde-vektnormer. Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen. 1956 Jun 1;76(11):361–368. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Lindgärde F. Potentiometric determination of serum ionized calcium in a normal human population. Clin Chim Acta. 1972 Sep;40(2):477–484. doi: 10.1016/0009-8981(72)90360-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Medeiros D., Pellum L., Brown B. Serum lipids and glucose as associated with hemoglobin levels and copper and zinc intake in young adults. Life Sci. 1983 Apr 18;32(16):1897–1904. doi: 10.1016/0024-3205(83)90069-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Moser K. A., Goldblatt P. O., Fox A. J., Jones D. R. Unemployment and mortality: comparison of the 1971 and 1981 longitudinal study census samples. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1987 Jan 10;294(6564):86–90. doi: 10.1136/bmj.294.6564.86. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Ohira Y., Edgerton V. R., Gardner G. W., Senewiratne B. Serum lipid levels in iron deficiency anemia and effects of various treatments. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo) 1980;26(4):375–379. doi: 10.3177/jnsv.26.375. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Smith R. "He never got over losing his job": death on the dole. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1985 Nov 23;291(6507):1492–1495. doi: 10.1136/bmj.291.6507.1492. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Stamler J., Wentworth D., Neaton J. D. Is relationship between serum cholesterol and risk of premature death from coronary heart disease continuous and graded? Findings in 356,222 primary screenees of the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT). JAMA. 1986 Nov 28;256(20):2823–2828. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Starrin B., Larsson G., Brenner S. O. Regional variations in cardiovascular mortality in Sweden--structural vulnerability in the local community. Soc Sci Med. 1988;27(9):911–917. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(88)90281-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Wingard D. L., Berkman L. F. Mortality risk associated with sleeping patterns among adults. Sleep. 1983;6(2):102–107. doi: 10.1093/sleep/6.2.102. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from BMJ : British Medical Journal are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES