Perceived job stress and mental health in precision machine workers of Japan: a 2 year cohort study

Objectives-To determine whether perceived job stress affects mental health in occupational settings. Methods-A 2 year cohort study was conducted. Initially, a survey including the general health questionnaire (GHQ) and a questionnaire about perceived job stress was carried out. Of 462 workers who initially showed a GHQ score of less than or equal to 7 310 were successfully followed up for 2 years. The 2 year risks of developing mental ill health (a GHQ score greater than or equal to 8) were assessed relative to perceived job stress. To control f or potential confounding factors, multiple logistic regression analyses wer e conducted. Results-The overall 2 year risk for developing mental ill health was high a t 57.7%. Workers who reported aspects of perceived job stress showed a grea ter 2 year risk than those without stress. Multiple logistic regression ana lyses showed that some components of perceived job stress were associated w ith a higher 2 year risk, among which ((not allowed to make mistakes') show ed the largest adjusted odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval (95% CI)) of 2.37 (1.32 to 4.29). "Poor relationship with superior" had a significant effect on mental health only in women, with an adjusted OR (95% CI) of 3.7 9 (1.65 to 8.73). Conclusions-Certain specific items of perceived job stress seem to be assoc iated with mental ill health in workers. These could broadly be described a s job strain, or job demand items. The type of job stress that predicts men tal health may be dependent on the characteristics of the workplace investi gated.