Affiliations 

  • 1 Retneswari Masilamani, MBBS, MMed. Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Email: retneswari@ummc.edu.my
  • 2 Azlan Darus, MPH. University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 3 Anselm Su Ting, MPH, MFOM. 1University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 4 Roslinah Ali, MSc, PhD. Ministry of Health, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 5 Awang Bulgiba Awang Mahmud, MPH, PhD. University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 6 Koh David, MBBS, PhD. National University of Singapore, Singapore
Asia Pac J Public Health, 2012 Mar;24(2):278-87.
PMID: 21385771 DOI: 10.1177/1010539510393725

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of job stress among secondary school teachers using Karasek Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ), the association between salivary cortisol, salivary IgA, and sociodemographic characteristics, and the association between log cortisol, IgA levels, and job strain categories. A cross-sectional study was undertaken using JCQ and salivary cortisol and IgA samples. Cluster sampling was done yielding 302 respondents. The prevalence of stress among all teachers was 20.2%. Being a Malay, teaching experience of 5 to 10 years, and those without a supervisor's support had higher prevalence of high job strain. Teachers in the 31 to 40 years age bracket, educating handicapped children with the absence of supervisor support exhibited higher stress levels with lower log salivary IgA levels. Further studies must be conducted using salivary biomarkers to study the in-depth relationship of stress, extending into other occupational groups.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.