Table 3.
Longitudinal associations between body mass index (BMI) categories and job strain at follow-up amongst participants without job strain at baseline in four studies with repeat data (n = 39 970)a
| Number of participantsb | Number (%) of new cases of job strain | Job strain at follow-up OR (95% CI)c | |
|---|---|---|---|
| BMI category at baseline | |||
| Underweight | 446 | 54 (12.1) | 1.05 (0.79–1.41) |
| Normal weight | 22 701 | 2488 (11.0) | 1.00 (reference) |
| Overweight | 13 014 | 1459 (11.2) | 1.04 (0.97–1.12) |
| Obese | 3809 | 458 (12.0) | 1.08 (0.96–1.20) |
| Obesity at baseline and at follow-up | |||
| No and no | 34 412 | 3771 (11.0) | 1.00 (reference) |
| No and yes | 1749 | 230 (13.2) | 1.18 (1.02–1.36) |
| Yes and no | 551 | 77 (14.0) | 1.31 (1.03–1.68)d |
| Yes and yes | 3258 | 381 (11.7) | 1.03 (0.92–1.15) |
a
Belstress, FPS, HeSSup and Whitehall II. Median follow-up 4 years.
b
Participants with no job strain at baseline.
c
Odds ratios for BMI and obesity are adjusted for age, sex and socio-economic status (SES).
d
The corresponding age- and sex-adjusted odds ratios were 1.34 (95% CI 0.86–2.10) in the low-SES group (n = 7192) and 1.47 (95% CI 1.07–2.02) in the intermediate-SES group (n = 21 402). There were only five new job strain cases amongst the high-SES participants who were obese at baseline but nonobese at follow-up.