Work-related stress of companies' directors during the first lockdown due to the COVID-19

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic and the first lockdown were particularly stressful with a major economic impact, but the impact on stress of company directors was not known. Therefore, this study aimed to assess that impact and the characteristics of companies the most at risk. METHOD: A online questionnaire was sent to 13,114 company. It assessed stress at work, number of employees, sector of activity, business activity rate and geographical location. It studied the mean stress levels, the percentage of stress > 8/10 and carried out an analysis of the characteristics of the most at-risk companies. RESULTS: A total of 807 company directors responded. Their stress levels increased by 25.9% during lockdown and 28.7% of them had a stress > 8/10. Sectors which had the biggest increase in stress levels during lockdown were retail trade, wholesale trade, and nursing homes. Sectors the most at risk of stress >8/10 during lockdown tended to be nursing homes, pharmacies, and IT activities. Biggest companies had the highest increase in stress levels. CONCLUSION: The first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on the stress of company directors. Directors of large companies were the most exposed to stress as well as medical and IT activities

Letter to the Editor: Comment on “Maternal exposure to air pollution and risk of autism in children: A systematic review and meta-analysis”

International audienc

Protocol of the Study on Emergency Health Care Workers’ Responses Evaluated by Karasek Questionnaire: The SEEK-Study Protocol

International audienceBackground: Stress is a significant public health concern that can be self-evaluated using the job control demands model from Karasek. Emergency health care workers are particularly exposed to stress because of the intrinsic characteristics associated with the job (i.e., life-threatening emergencies, overcrowding, lack of bed spaces). However, these attributes have never been studied using the Karasek model. Methods: An observational, prospective, multicentric study in French Emergency Departments will be conducted using a cohort of emergency health care workers. Four questionnaires before a control day and after a nightshift will be assessed every 5 years in the same emergency departments. Also, the Karasek questionnaire, a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Maslach Burnout Inventory scale, the Hospital Anxiety, Depression Scale, and a food intake questionnaire will be evaluated. Salivary biomarkers (cortisol, immunoglobulin A, lysozyme) will be collected from every emergency health care worker who consents to participating in the study. Conclusion: This study will provide a point of care for the emergency health care workers’ stress situation every 5 years. Ethics: This protocol was registered in Clinical Trials under the identification NCT02401607 after the French Ethics Committee’s approval

Impact of 24 h shifts on urinary catecholamine in emergency physicians: a cross-over randomized trial

International audienceAbstract 24-h shift (24 hS) exposed emergency physicians to a higher stress level than 14-h night shift (14 hS), with an impact spreading on several days. Catecholamines are supposed to be chronic stress biomarker. However, no study has used catecholamines to assess short-term residual stress or measured them over multiple shifts. A shift-randomized trial was conducted to study urinary catecholamines levels of 17 emergency physicians during a control day (clerical work on return from leave) and two working day (14 hS and 24 hS). The Wilcoxon matched-pairs test was utilized to compare the mean catecholamine levels. Additionally, a multivariable generalized estimating equations model was employed to further analyze the independent relationships between key factors such as shifts (compared to control day), perceived stress, and age with catecholamine levels. Dopamine levels were lower during 24 hS than 14 hS and the control day. Norepinephrine levels increased two-fold during both night shifts. Epinephrine levels were higher during the day period of both shifts than on the control day. Despite having a rest day, the dopamine levels did not return to their normal values by the end of the third day after the 24 hS. The generalized estimating equations model confirmed relationships of catecholamines with workload and fatigue. To conclude, urinary catecholamine biomarkers are a convenient and non-invasive strong measure of stress during night shifts, both acutely and over time. Dopamine levels are the strongest biomarker with a prolonged alteration of its circadian rhythm. Due to the relation between increased catecholamine levels and both adverse psychological effects and cardiovascular disease, we suggest that emergency physicians restrict their exposure to 24 hS to mitigate these risks