Toxic habits and work stress: a combination that requires intervention at work, not just in the individual
Toxic habits and work stress
Resumen
For decades, we have treated smoking, alcohol consumption, and other unhealthy habits as individual decisions. In occupational health, this approach falls short. Evidence indicates that work stress—expressed in models such as demand-control or effort-reward—not only impairs mental and cardiovascular health, but it also leads to unhealthy coping behaviors and makes them difficult to quit. This editorial does not aim to exhaust the topic, but rather to propose an agenda: if we want to reduce toxic habits, we must redesign work. Handing out flyers to quit smoking is not enough.
Citas
1. Heikkilä K, Nyberg ST, Fransson EI, Alfredsson L, De Bacquer D, Bjorner JB, et al. Job strain and tobacco smoking: an individual-participant data meta-analysis of 166,130 adults in 15 European studies. PLoS One. 2012;7(7):e35463. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0035463.
2. Kouvonen A, Kivimäki M, Virtanen M, Pentti J, Vahtera J. Work stress, smoking status, and smoking intensity: an observational study of 46,190 employees. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2005 Jan;59(1):63-9. doi: 10.1136/jech.2004.019752.
3. Slopen N, Kontos EZ, Ryff CD, Ayanian JZ, Albert MA, Williams DR. Psychosocial stress and cigarette smoking persistence, cessation, and relapse over 9-10 years: a prospective study of middle-aged adults in the United States. Cancer Causes Control. 2013 Oct;24(10):1849-63. doi: 10.1007/s10552-013-0262-5.
4. Virtanen M, Jokela M, Nyberg ST, Madsen IE, Lallukka T, Ahola K, et al. Long working hours and alcohol use: systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies and unpublished individual participant data. BMJ. 2015 Jan 13;350:g7772. doi: 10.1136/bmj.g7772.
5. Richter K, Peter L, Rodenbeck A, Weess HG, Riedel-Heller SG, Hillemacher T. Shiftwork and Alcohol Consumption: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Eur Addict Res. 2021;27(1):9-15. doi: 10.1159/000507573.
6. Kivimäki M, Nyberg ST, Fransson EI, Heikkilä K, Alfredsson L, Casini A, et al. Associations of job strain and lifestyle risk factors with risk of coronary artery disease: a meta-analysis of individual participant data. CMAJ. 2013 Jun 11;185(9):763-9. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.121735.
7. Cesena FHY. Job Stress and Cardiovascular Health: Is There a Connection? Arq Bras Cardiol. 2019 Mar;112(3):269-270. doi: 10.5935/abc.20190030.
8. Heuel L, Lübstorf S, Otto AK, Wollesen B. Chronic stress, behavioral tendencies, and determinants of health behaviors in nurses: a mixed-methods approach. BMC Public Health. 2022 Mar 30;22(1):624. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-12993-5.
9. Tashiro S, Kato K, Kitazawa M, Fujihara K, Kodama S, Tashiro M, et al. Differences in occupational stress by smoking intensity and gender in a cross-sectional study of 59,355 Japanese employees using the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire (BJSQ): the Niigata Wellness Study. BMJ Open. 2022 Apr 8;12(4):e055577. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-055577.
2. Kouvonen A, Kivimäki M, Virtanen M, Pentti J, Vahtera J. Work stress, smoking status, and smoking intensity: an observational study of 46,190 employees. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2005 Jan;59(1):63-9. doi: 10.1136/jech.2004.019752.
3. Slopen N, Kontos EZ, Ryff CD, Ayanian JZ, Albert MA, Williams DR. Psychosocial stress and cigarette smoking persistence, cessation, and relapse over 9-10 years: a prospective study of middle-aged adults in the United States. Cancer Causes Control. 2013 Oct;24(10):1849-63. doi: 10.1007/s10552-013-0262-5.
4. Virtanen M, Jokela M, Nyberg ST, Madsen IE, Lallukka T, Ahola K, et al. Long working hours and alcohol use: systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies and unpublished individual participant data. BMJ. 2015 Jan 13;350:g7772. doi: 10.1136/bmj.g7772.
5. Richter K, Peter L, Rodenbeck A, Weess HG, Riedel-Heller SG, Hillemacher T. Shiftwork and Alcohol Consumption: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Eur Addict Res. 2021;27(1):9-15. doi: 10.1159/000507573.
6. Kivimäki M, Nyberg ST, Fransson EI, Heikkilä K, Alfredsson L, Casini A, et al. Associations of job strain and lifestyle risk factors with risk of coronary artery disease: a meta-analysis of individual participant data. CMAJ. 2013 Jun 11;185(9):763-9. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.121735.
7. Cesena FHY. Job Stress and Cardiovascular Health: Is There a Connection? Arq Bras Cardiol. 2019 Mar;112(3):269-270. doi: 10.5935/abc.20190030.
8. Heuel L, Lübstorf S, Otto AK, Wollesen B. Chronic stress, behavioral tendencies, and determinants of health behaviors in nurses: a mixed-methods approach. BMC Public Health. 2022 Mar 30;22(1):624. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-12993-5.
9. Tashiro S, Kato K, Kitazawa M, Fujihara K, Kodama S, Tashiro M, et al. Differences in occupational stress by smoking intensity and gender in a cross-sectional study of 59,355 Japanese employees using the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire (BJSQ): the Niigata Wellness Study. BMJ Open. 2022 Apr 8;12(4):e055577. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-055577.
Publicado
2025-09-28
Sección
Thinking about Occupational Health
