Occupations, perceived stress, and stress-related disorders among women and men in the public sector in Sweden

Background: Stress-related disorders are a public health problem and represent a significant burden to individuals and society. It is, therefore, of importance to regard stress in a wider context and identify risk factors not only at work but in all occupations in everyday life, to prevent ill health. Aim/objective: The aim of this study was to examine potential associations between everyday occupations, perceived stress, and stress-related disorders as well as potential gender differences. Material and methods: A survey was mailed to a random selection of 3481 employees in the public sector in Western Sweden. Cox regressions with constant time at risk were used, in order to calculate prevalence ratios (PR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: The results showed a clear association between reporting imbalance between different everyday occupations and both perceived stress and stress-related disorders among men and women. Conclusion: Imbalance between different everyday occupations seems to be an important risk factor for perceived stress and stress-related disorder among both women and men. Significance: To enable people to achieve balance between different everyday occupations may be a useful way to prevent stress, stress-related disorders, and sick leave, and to promote better health and well-being.