Assessment of work-related stress by using salivary cortisol level examination among early morning shift workers.

OBJECTIVE: Early morning shifts have a negative effect on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. The aim of this study was to comprehensively assess the extent of occupational stress in early shift workers of the car industry by using salivary cortisol as an objective marker during a workday and on a day off. METHODS: For this cross-sectional epidemiological type of study, a survey included 55 suitable volunteers from the car industry. Five saliva samples were collected according to the following schedule: during one work day in the morning, during the morning shift from 6 a.m. - 2 p.m., then after the shift was completed, 3 hours after work and in the evening before going to sleep. Control samples were taken from the same participants on a day off. Radioimmunoanalysis was used as the main analytical method, and the effect of factors and between-factor interactions on the levels of salivary cortisol during the workday were assessed using an ANOVA model. RESULTS: The cortisol diurnal rhythm was as expected, with the highest values in the morning and declining to the lowest values in the evening hours. Concentrations of salivary cortisol showed higher values during the workday, especially higher concentrations of evening cortisol and attenuated cortisol slope. Based on the results, irregular shift work has a greater increase in cortisol excretion after waking in the morning and a slower progressive recovery of the organism during the workday. In addition, cortisol levels were significantly higher in older women than in older men but did not differ in younger subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Salivary cortisol levels are a suitable objective marker of stress and can be used as a good predictor of occupational stress by public health services for the purposes of primary prevention.

Salivary cortisol in two professions: daily cortisol profiles in school teachers and firefighters.

BACKGROUND: It's indicated negative-perceived stress could induce worse health status and change of cortisol secretion. OBJECTIVES: To assess salivary cortisol levels in two occupations with a high psychosocial workload, but different features, teachers and firefighters. METHODS: The study population consisted of 142 school teachers and 136 firefighters. Four saliva samples were collected from pedagogical participants during their busiest workday. The cortisol measures used were: morning values, evening values, slope of decline, ratio (evening value divided by morning value), and area under the curve (AUC). RESULTS: The salivary cortisol measurements in both genders were almost equal regarding morning values, slope, and AUC increase. Evening values were lower and the relative reactivity was higher (lower ratio) for female teachers, compared to male teachers. There was a tendency of a lower total daytime output of cortisol (AUC ground) among female teachers. Firefighters had lower levels of cortisol, lower total daytime output, and higher relative reactivity (lower ratio), but lower absolute reactivity, regarding both slope and AUC increase. CONCLUSION: Overall, male teachers might be the group most affected by stress in this study, even if some of their cortisol values were almost equal to the female teachers' values. Male teachers also seemed to be more affected by stress, according to salivary cortisol, compared to male firefighters, even if there were some inconsistencies.