The labor/management health and safety committee of a major automaker has funded the first study of job stress, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk among U.S. autoworkers. CVD is the number one cause of death in the U.S. and hypertension is a widespread and strong risk factor for CVD. Stressful features of work organization have been identified as important risk factors for hypertension and CVD. This study involves the analysis of existing company data on stress-related illnesses, as well as a shop-floor investigation of sources of stress in the workplace and blood pressure (BP) levels of employees.

First, sickness absence, disability and workers’ compensation claim data from 1996-2001 for hypertension, CVD, and psychological disorders will be analyzed. Rates of claims, adjusted by age and gender, will be presented by company facility and job category (e.g., production, skilled trades, clerical/technical, professional/managerial), in order to identify high-risk facilities and job categories.

Second, a questionnaire to assess job stressors, work organization, and health conditions will be developed in consultation with labor and management representatives and employees. Employees’ BP will be measured while they are working (“work site point estimate method”), to provide a more reliable and valid measure of daytime BP than the standard technique of measuring BP in a doctor’s office. Data on the association between stressors (as measured by the questionnaire) and workplace BP will not be available by November, 2002. However, the innovative BP measurement technique, and qualitative data on sources of stress in the work environment will be described.