A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase: Is there consistency between psychosocial stress test and burdensome work shifts?




AuthorsKati Karhula, Mikko Härmä, Mikael Sallinen, Harri Lindholm, Ari Hirvonen, Marko Elovainio, Mika Kivimäki, Jussi Vahtera, Sampsa Puttonen

PublisherTaylor and Francis, Inc.

Publication year2017

JournalJournal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene

Journal name in sourceJournal of occupational and environmental hygiene

Journal acronymJ Occup Environ Hyg

Volume14

Issue12

First page 1003

Last page1010

Number of pages8

ISSN1545-9632

eISSN1545-9632

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1080/15459624.2017.1350786


Abstract
This study examined the consistency of salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase (sAA) total daily secretion between laboratory and field circumstances. The 95 participants were shift working female health care professionals with high (n = 53) or low (n = 42) psychosocial stress (job strain) measured by the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ). The Trier Social Stress Test including a 5-min free speech and a mental arithmetic task was conducted with four, and field measurements with three daily saliva samples of cortisol and sAA during circadian rhythm and inter-shift recovery controlled morning shift, night shift, and a day off. The associations of salivary cortisol and sAA area under the curve with respect to ground (AUCg) and area under the curve with respect to increase (AUCi) between laboratory and field were tested using OLS (Ordinary Least Squares) regression. The sAA AUCg output in the laboratory was correlated with the output during all field measurement days and similarly among high and low job strain groups (p < 0.001). SAA AUCi and salivary cortisol AUCg and AUCi were not correlated between laboratory and field measurement, neither in the whole sample nor among the low or high job strain group. In conclusion, a laboratory measure of sAA AUCg output is promising in predicting stress-related output during burdensome work shifts and leisure time, whereas sAA AUCi or salivary cortisol seem not to have this potential.



Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 15:09