Blood pressure and working conditions in hospital nurses and nursing assistants. The ORSOSA study

Summary Background Healthcare workers often are unsatisfied with their working conditions despite declaring to like their jobs. Psychosocial constraints in the workplace have increased recently due to changes in work organization. These psychosocial constraints are linked to cardiovascular diseases. Aim To analyze the relationship between blood pressure levels and organizational occupational risk factors in female hospital workers, using a new questionnaire (the Nursing Work Index-Extended Organization [NWI-EO] questionnaire), which quantifies psychological and organizational work factors. Methods The ORSOSA study is a national, multicentre, cohort study conducted in seven voluntary French university hospitals, including 214 work units with a total of 2307 nurses and 1530 nursing assistants. Results Systolic and diastolic blood pressure appeared to be significantly associated with age ( P < 0.001) and excess weight ( P < 0.001). The difference between systolic blood pressure in day-shift and night-shift workers was 2.5 mmHg ( P < 0.001). The NWI-EO dimension most strongly correlated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure was poor team relationships ( P < 0.01 for both). For a one-point difference in the NWI-EO stress score, systolic blood pressure was higher by a mean of 0.2 mmHg. Conclusion These results suggest that poor relationships within teams are related to high blood pressure among hospital workers. They add to the evidence that working conditions should be considered and investigated further among other risk factors as a pathway to primary prevention of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases.