Feng-Cheng Tang

The Potential for Mindfulness-Based Intervention in Workplace Mental Health Promotion: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objectives This study aims to intensively evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) on mental illness risks (including psychological distress, prolonged fatigue, and perceived stress) and job strain (job control and job demands) for employees with poor mental health. Methods A longitudinal research design was adopted. In total, 144 participants were randomized to the intervention group or the control group. The intervention group participated in MBI for eight weeks. Measurements were collected for both groups at five time points: at pre-intervention (T1), at mid-intervention (T2), at the completion of intervention (T3), four weeks after intervention (T4), and eight weeks after intervention (T5). Data were analyzed according to the intention-to-treat principle. A linear mixed model with two levels was employed to analyze the repeated measurement data. Results Compared with the control group, the intercepts (means at T3) for the intervention group were significantly lower on psychological distress, prolonged fatigue, and perceived stress when MBI was completed. Even with the demographic variables controlled, the positive effects remained. For growth rates of prolonged fatigue and perceived stress, participants in the intervention group showed a steeper decrease than did the participants in the control group. Regarding job strain, although the intercept (mean at T3) of job demands showed a significant decline when BMI was completed, the significance disappeared when the demographic variables were controlled. Moreover, the other results for job control and job demands did not show promising findings. Conclusion As a workplace health promotion program, the MBI seems to have potential in improving mental illness risks for employees with poor mental health. However, there was insufficient evidence to support its effect on mitigating job strain. Further research on maintaining the positive effects on mental health for the long term and on developing innovative MBI to suit job strain are recommended. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02241070

Lifestyle Factors and Metabolic Syndrome among Workers: The Role of Interactions between Smoking and Alcohol to Nutrition and Exercise

This study aimed to investigate (1) relations of smoking and alcohol to metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components, with nutrition and exercise controlled; and (2) interactions between smoking/alcohol and nutrition/exercise on MetS. This cross-sectional study enrolled 4025 workers. Self-reported lifestyles, anthropometric values, blood pressure (BP), and biochemical determinations were obtained. Among males, smoking significantly increased the risk of low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), high triglyceride, abdominal obesity (AO), and MetS. Additionally, smoking showed significant interaction effects with nutrition on high BP, AO, and MetS; after further analysis, nutrition did not decrease above-mentioned risks for smokers. However, there was no significant interaction of smoking with exercise on any metabolic parameter. Alcohol increased the risk of AO, but decreased low HDL-C. It also showed an interaction effect with exercise on AO; after further analysis, exercise decreased AO risk for drinkers. Among females, alcohol significantly decreased the risk of high fasting blood glucose, but did not show significant interaction with nutrition/exercise on any metabolic parameter. In conclusion, in males, smoking retained significant associations with MetS and its components, even considering benefits of nutrition; exercise kept predominance on lipid parameters regardless of smoking status. Alcohol showed inconsistencies on metabolic parameters for both genders.

Effects of Nutrition and Exercise Health Behaviors on Predicted Risk of Cardiovascular Disease among Workers with Different Body Mass Index Levels

Workplace health promotion programs should be tailored according to individual needs and efficient intervention. This study aimed to determine the effects of nutrition and exercise health behaviors on predicted risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) when body mass index (BMI) is considered. In total, 3350 Taiwanese workers were included in this cross-sectional study. A self-reported questionnaire was used to measure their nutrition and exercise behaviors. Data on anthropometric values, biochemical blood determinations, and predicted CVD risk (using the Framingham risk score) were collected. In multiple regression analyses, the nutrition behavior score was independently and negatively associated with CVD risk. Exercise was not significantly associated with the risk. However, the interactive effect of exercise and BMI on CVD risk was evident. When stratified by BMI levels, associations between exercise and CVD risk were statistically significant for ideal weight and overweight subgroups. In conclusion, nutrition behavior plays an important role in predicting the CVD risk. Exercise behavior is also a significant predictor for ideal weight and overweight workers. Notably, for underweight or obese workers, maintaining health-promoting exercise seems insufficient to prevent the CVD. In order to improve workers’ cardiovascular health, more specific health-promoting strategies should be developed to suit the different BMI levels.

Relationships between different types of physical activity and metabolic syndrome among Taiwanese workers

This study aimed to investigate the relationships between different types of physical activity (PA) and metabolic syndrome (MetS). In this cross-sectional study, 3,296 Taiwanese workers were enrolled. A self-reported questionnaire was used to assess nutritional health behavior and PA levels related to occupation, leisure time, and commuting. Anthropometric measures, blood pressure and biochemical determinations of the blood were also obtained. Multiple logistic regression was used to evaluate the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of MetS and its components associated with different types of PA. The prevalence of MetS was 16.6% in workers. Compared with a low level of leisure-time PA, a high level of leisure-time PA showed a significantly lower risk of high triglycerides (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.61–0.87) and MetS (OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.62–0.95). Compared with a low level of occupational PA, a high level of occupational PA represented a significantly lower risk of both abdominal adiposity (OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.49–0.84) and high triglycerides (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.55–0.90). However, commuting PA levels were not significantly associated with MetS and its components. In conclusion, occupational PA as well as leisure-time PA could be important for the prevention of MetS.

Differences in Health Complaints among Taiwanese Workers in Different Occupational Categories

Differences in Health Complaints among Taiwanese Workers in Different Occupational Categories: Shu‐Ling HUANG, et al. Department of Psychology, Chung‐Shan Medical University, Taiwan—

The Association between Job-Related Psychosocial Factors and Prolonged Fatigue among Industrial Employees in Taiwan

Background and Objectives Prolonged fatigue is common among employees, but the relationship between prolonged fatigue and job-related psychosocial factors is seldom studied. This study aimed (1) to assess the individual relations of physical condition, psychological condition, and job-related psychosocial factors to prolonged fatigue among employees, and (2) to clarify the associations between job-related psychosocial factors and prolonged fatigue using hierarchical regression when demographic characteristics, physical condition, and psychological condition were controlled. Methods A cross-sectional study was employed. A questionnaire was used to obtain information pertaining to demographic characteristics, physical condition (perceived physical health and exercise routine), psychological condition (perceived mental health and psychological distress), job-related psychosocial factors (job demand, job control, and workplace social support), and prolonged fatigue. Results A total of 3,109 employees were recruited. Using multiple regression with controlled demographic characteristics, psychological condition explained 52.0% of the variance in prolonged fatigue. Physical condition and job-related psychosocial factors had an adjusted R2 of 0.370 and 0.251, respectively. Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that, among job-related psychosocial factors, job demand and job control showed significant associations with fatigue. Conclusion Our findings highlight the role of job demand and job control, in addition to the role of perceived physical health, perceived mental health, and psychological distress, in workers’ prolonged fatigue. However, more research is required to verify the causation among all the variables.

Job Satisfactions, Depression, and Anxiety amongst Senior Police Officers in Central Taiwan

Background and aims: Amongst all public servants in Taiwan, police officers are one of the highest risk groups to commit suicide. Job satisfaction and social support are positively associated with mental health. Working as a police officer means working long shifts, leading to irregular days off that might be harmful to job satisfaction and social support. This study aimed 1) to survey the level of job satisfaction, depression, and anxiety and 2) to investigate the predictors for depression and anxiety amongst senior police officers in central Taiwan. Methods: Senior police officers that voluntarily joined a health screening program at one medical center were surveyed; a total number of 145 participants were obtained. Data were analyzed by t-tests and multiple regressions. Results: The mean overall job satisfaction was scored between ”unsure” and ”a little satisfied”. The three most satisfied aspects of work were fellow workers, payroll, and immediate bosses; the three least satisfied aspects were chance of promotion, hours of work, and amount of responsibility given. There was 15.2% of the participants in depressive mood, and 8.4% had an anxious disposition. Regression analysis showed that self-perception of having more close friends and high satisfaction with immediate bosses were associated with lower depression scores. Self-perception of having fewer close friends was associated with higher anxiety scores. Conclusion: The overall job satisfaction of senior police officers had room for improvement, and strategies should be adopted to enhance positive perception of their job. The quantity of social support from friends was negatively correlated with levels of depression and anxiety. It would be worthwhile to develop Employee Assistant Programs, which are designed specifically to assist police officers to enhance social skills and build social networks.