Healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia perceive stress differently according to gender but not in cortisol levels: an immunoassay study

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
pp. 4154
Author(s):  
Ricardo J. M. Governo ◽  
Danah A. Alyusuf ◽  
Paul R. Gard
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Chronic Stress ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Stress Perception ◽  
Indirect Measure ◽  
Healthcare Profession ◽  
Hair Samples ◽  
Cortisol Levels ◽  
The Impact

Background: Working in the healthcare sector is generally regarded as stress inductive, which hampers performance, yet one demanding constant accuracy. This dichotomy has led to numerous investigations on the impact from perceived stress on hospital workers but focused primarily on employing psychological methods to determine perceived stress. This study sought to employ an arguably more objective measure of chronic stress on female healthcare professionals in Saudi Arabia, by assaying the concentration of hair cortisol (HCC) in parallel with stress questionnaires.Methods: Pharmacists, nurses and lab workers participated in providing hair samples. Cortisol levels were subsequently quantified using immunoassay methods. Investigations considered the variables of age, gender, and smoking, hair coloring or bleaching or working in shifts on both stress perception and HCC.Results: On average chronic stress was perceived comparably between the different healthcare professions and not differ significantly against the female control group. However, chronic stress differed significantly between genders within the healthcare profession. In contrast, HCC levels showed no direct relation to stress perception with respect to either gender or profession. HCC did, however, show steady decreases with respect to age, as an indirect measure of experience, that contrasted against the identical scores for stress perception. Finally, night shifts, smoking or hair colouring did not produce a significant change on HCC in the healthcare cohorts.Conclusions: Women in the healthcare profession perceive stress higher irrespective of profession compared to men. Also show a pattern of decreasing levels of cortisol with increasing age despite reporting similar stress perception against younger participants.

scholarly journals Comparison group matters for chronic stress effects of subjective social status

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (14) ◽  
pp. 1923-1928 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley M Geiger ◽  
Clemens Kirschbaum ◽  
Jutta M Wolf
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Chronic Stress ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Comparison Group ◽  
Reference Group ◽  
Subjective Social Status ◽  
Family Status ◽  
Stress Effects ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact

Inconsistent associations between health and measures of subjective social status compared to one’s community suggest that how people define community may matter. This study broke down community into status among neighborhood and friends/family to assess the impact of each domain on chronic stress in individuals differing in socioeconomic status (18 employed and 18 unemployed individuals). The findings suggest that for ratings of subjective social status, the social and physical proximity of the reference group matters. Specifically, neighborhood status was affected by unemployment, while friends/family status was associated with perceived stress, emphasizing the importance of the comparison group in assessing subjective status.

scholarly journals Hair Cortisol and Its Association With Psychological Risk Factors for Psychiatric Disorders: A Pilot Study in Adolescent Twins

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 438-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liz Rietschel ◽  
Fabian Streit ◽  
Gu Zhu ◽  
Kerrie McAloney ◽  
Clemens Kirschbaum ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Chronic Stress ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Eysenck Personality Questionnaire ◽  
Hair Cortisol ◽  
Symptoms Of Depression ◽  
Stress Symptoms ◽  
Hair Samples

Measuring cortisol in hair is a promising method to assess long-term alterations of the biological stress response system, and hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) may be altered in psychiatric disorders and in subjects suffering from chronic stress. However, the pattern of associations between HCC, chronic stress and mental health require clarification. Our exploratory study: (1) assessed the association between HCC and perceived stress, symptoms of depression and neuroticism, and the trait extraversion (as a control variable); and (2) made use of the twin design to estimate the genetic and environmental covariance between the variables of interest. Hair samples from 109 (74 female) subjects (age range 12–21 years, mean 15.1) including 8 monozygotic (MZ) and 21 dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs were analyzed. Perceived stress was measured with the Perceived Stress Scale and/or the Daily Life and Stressors Scale, neuroticism, and extraversion with the NEO-Five Factor Inventory or the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and depressive symptoms with the Somatic and Psychological Health Report. We found a modest positive association between HCC and the three risk factors — perceived stress, symptoms of depression, and neuroticism (r = 0.22–0.33) — but no correlation with extraversion (-0.06). A median split revealed that the associations between HCC and risk factors were stronger (0.47–0.60) in those subjects with HCC >11.36 pg/mg. Furthermore, our results suggest that the genetic effects underlying HCC are largely shared with those that influence perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and neuroticism. These results of our proof of principle study warrant replication in a bigger sample but raise the interesting question of the direction of causation between these variables.

scholarly journals Cognitive Performance and Morning Levels of Salivary Cortisol and α-Amylase in Children Reporting High vs. Low Daily Stress Perception

2008 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrique F. Maldonado ◽  
Francisco J. Fernandez ◽  
M. Victoria Trianes ◽  
Keith Wesnes ◽  
Orlando Petrini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Alpha Amylase ◽  
Healthy Children ◽  
Stress Perception ◽  
Daily Stress ◽  
Morning Cortisol ◽  
Cortisol Levels

The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of daily stress perception on cognitive performance and morning basal salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase levels in healthy children aged 9–12. Participants were classified by whether they had low daily perceived stress (LPS,n= 27) or a high daily perceived stress (HPS,n= 26) using the Children Daily Stress Inventory (CDSI). Salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase were measured at awakening and 30 minutes later. Cognitive performance was assessed using the Cognitive Drug Research assessment system. The HPS group exhibited significantly poorer scores on speed of memory (p < .05) and continuity of attention (p< .05) relative to the LPS group. The HPS group also showed significantly lower morning cortisol levels at awakening and at +30 minutes measures in comparison with the LPS group (p< .05), and mean morning cortisol levels were negatively correlated with speed of memory (p< .05) in the 53 participants. No significant differences were observed between both groups in alpha-amylase levels. These findings suggest that daily perceived stress in children may impoverish cognitive performance via its modulating effects on the HPA axis activity.

scholarly journals Healthcare Human Resources: Trends and Demand in Saudi Arabia

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 955
Author(s):  
Khalid Alnowibet ◽  
Adel Abduljabbar ◽  
Shafiq Ahmad ◽  
Latifah ALqasem ◽  
Nabil Alrajeh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Human Resources ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Allied Health ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Series Data ◽  
Healthcare Human Resources ◽  
The Impact

This paper estimates the impact of policies on the current status of Healthcare Human Resources (HHR) in Saudi Arabia and explores the initiatives that will be adopted to achieve Saudi Vision 2030. Retrospective time-series data from the Ministry of Health (MOH) and statistical yearbooks between 2003 and 2015 are analyzed to identify the impact of these policies on the health sector and the number of Saudi and non-Saudi physicians, nurses and allied health specialists employed by MOH, Other Government Hospitals (OGH) and Private Sector Hospitals (PSH). Moreover, multiple regressions are performed with respect to project data until 2030 and meaningful inferences are drawn. As a local supply of professional medical falls short of demand, either policy to foster an increase in supply are adopted or the Saudization policies must be relaxed. The discrepancies are identified in terms of a high rate of non-compliance of Saudization in the private sector and this is being countered with alternative measures which are discussed in this paper. The study also analyzed the drivers of HHR demand, supply and discussed the research implications on policy and society. The findings suggest that the 2011 national Saudization policy yielded the desired results mostly regarding allied health specialists and nurses. This study will enable decision-makers in the healthcare sector to measure the effectiveness of the new policies and, hence, whether to continue in implementing them or to revise them.

Socioeconomic status, executive functions and theory of mind ability in adolescents: relationships with language ability and cortisol

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Pluck
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Language Ability ◽  
Executive Processes ◽  
Hair Samples ◽  
Cortisol Levels ◽  
The Impact

Socioeconomic status (SES) is linked to development of cognitive abilities, particularly language and executive processes. It is unclear whether these represent a single, or independent correlates. We studied 110 Ecuadorian youths aged 12-17 with measures of SES, language, executive function and theory of mind (ToM), a.k.a. mentalizing. A subsample gave hair samples to estimate past three-month cortisol levels. Restricting analyses to reliable measures, SES was highly associated with language skill, and to a lesser extent with executive function and ToM performance. However, those latter associations were greatly attenuated when language ability was controlled for statistically. Three-month systemic cortisol levels were not associated with SES, but were significantly and negatively correlated with ToM, independent of variation in language skills. We conclude that language development underlies most of the impact of SES on executive function and ToM ability of adolescents, but that stress-related cortisol may have an independent, direct effect on mentalizing.

scholarly journals Effects of Loneliness and Stress Management on Perceived Stress in Older Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 924-924
Author(s):  
Angela Gifford ◽  
Hayley Fouche ◽  
Janelle Beadle
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Stress Management ◽  
Chronic Stress ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Older Adulthood ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract In older adulthood, individuals may experience acute and chronic stressors, such as the loss of independence, mobility, or the experience of chronic diseases. Loneliness is also a concern in older adulthood as many experience the loss of close others and smaller social networks. Loneliness is well-established as being associated with higher stress levels in younger adults, but there are mixed findings on the impact in older adulthood. Furthermore, while older adults may engage in behaviors designed to reduce and manage stress, it is not known whether these behaviors modulate the relationship between loneliness and chronic stress. The current study examined the relationship between loneliness and stress in older adulthood and the degree to which stress-management moderated this relationship (note: data collected prior to COVID-19 pandemic). We hypothesized that loneliness and perceived stress would be positively associated, but that stress-management would moderate this relationship. Participants included 40 healthy older adults (Mage= 69.18, Range:55-86yrs; 29 females) who completed the UCLA-Loneliness Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, the NEO-FFI (to assess neuroticism), and demographic information about participation in stress management activities. We found that loneliness was significantly associated with chronic stress, r(38) = .539, p &lt; .001. Furthermore, loneliness and neuroticism were significant predictors of perceived stress, F(2, 37) = 10.657, p &lt; .001, R2 = .366. These findings demonstrate that loneliness is a significant predictor of perceived stress in older adulthood and point to a need for further exploration of effective stress-management tools in later life.

scholarly journals The Impact of COVID-19 on Essential Medicines and Personal Protective Equipment Availability and Prices in Saudi Arabia

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 290
Author(s):  
Rana Aljadeed ◽  
Yazed AlRuthia ◽  
Bander Balkhi ◽  
Ibrahim Sales ◽  
Monira Alwhaibi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Prescription Drugs ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Public Healthcare ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Short Supply ◽  
The Impact

This was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study that explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the availability of essential medicine and personal protective equipment (PPE) in Saudi Arabia. Purposive sampling technique was used to recruit individuals working in the supply chain departments in different healthcare sectors in Saudi Arabia. One hundred and three pharmaceutical and medical supply chain employees participated in the study. Most of the participants (58.3%) were aged ≥35 years, male (65%), and pharmacists (92.2%). The majority of participants had at least two years of experience in supply chain (77.6%), worked in public hospitals (95.15%), and were mostly working at healthcare institutions located in Riyadh province (59.2%). Approximately 51% of the participants reported shortages of 10 or more essential drugs. Tocilizumab, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir, ribavirin, dexamethasone, enoxaparin, interferon beta-1b, cisatracurium besylate, prednisolone, hydrocortisone, methimazole, and methylprednisolone were reported to be in shortage by at least 8% of the participants. Almost 70% of the participants reported that the pandemic did not significantly impact the prices of prescription drugs in shortage (e.g., ≥25%). Moreover, about 70% of the participants reported direct purchasing or procurement of drugs in shortage. Surgical masks, face shields, medical gowns, and N95 respirators were reported to be in short supply by 33% or more of the participants. Approximately 53% of the participants reported the prices of PPE in shortage had seen an increase by at least 25% during the pandemic. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant disruption in the global pharmaceutical supply chain, its impact was largely manageable in Saudi healthcare institutions. This can be attributable to multiple reasons such as the effective exchange programs between hospitals and the drastic increase in public healthcare spending to ameliorate the negative impact of the pandemic on the healthcare sector.

Precarious employment and stress: any differences between objective or subjective measures of stress?

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Julià ◽  
O Pozo ◽  
A Gómez-Gómez ◽  
M Bolíbar
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Social Determinant ◽  
Objective Measures ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Precarious Employment ◽  
Hair Samples ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Cortisol Metabolites

Abstract Background Precarious employment is an emerging social determinant of health and health inequalities. It is known that it has an impact on health and could be a potential stressor. This study aims to examine the association between precarious employment and stress measured in two different ways: subjectively (questionnaire) and objectively (cortisol and its metabolites concentrations in hair, considered biomarkers of chronic stress). Methods Cross-sectional study in a sample of 256 workers of Barcelona, Spain, aged 25-60. We conducted a survey including questions on multidimensional precarious employment assessed by EPRES (Precarious Employment Scale), and perceived stress (measured through the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)). We also collected hair samples to measure cortisol and metabolites concentrations. The associations between precarious employment and stress were assessed using lineal regression models, stratified by sex and adjusted for age and BMI. Results Preliminary analyses show an association between precarious employment and perceived stress for both men and women (B = 5.4,CI95%:3.8-7.1 and B = 5.4,CI95%:3.2-7.7 respectively). While we did not find significant association between precarious employment and Cortisol, we did in several biomarkers of the Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis for the case of women: 20α-Dihydrocortisol (B = 2.4;CI95%:0.1-4.6), 20β-Dihydrocortisol (B = 1.6;CI95%:-0.4-2.7) and 11-Dehydrocorticosterone (B = 0.6;CI95%:0.0-1.2). Conclusions This study found evidence of association between precarious employment and stress. The results were more robust when stress is measured by means of subjective self-reports than by objective measures of cortisol metabolites, implying that precarious employment has a clearer impact on wellbeing and mental health than in physical and hormonal responses. Further research is needed to validate and understand differences among outcomes, as well as differences between men and women. Key messages Some evidence of association between precarious employment and stress, measured both by subjective self-reported measures and by objective measures of cortisol metabolites existed. More research is needed to understand the differences between objective and subjective stress on the impact of precarious employment and differences among indicators for men and women.

Comparison of Hair Cortisol Levels and Perceived Stress in Mothers Who Deliver at Preterm and Term

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 292-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allyson R. Duffy ◽  
Donna L. Schminkey ◽  
Maureen W. Groer ◽  
Melissa Shelton ◽  
Samia Dutra
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Allostatic Load ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Hair Cortisol ◽  
Third Trimester ◽  
Hair Samples ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
Cortisol Levels

Objective: To evaluate relationships between hair cortisol levels and perceived stress in mothers who deliver preterm and term. We hypothesized that the rate of change in cortisol levels would be greater in the preterm delivery group. Methods: This preliminary study compared hair cortisol levels and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) scores in predominately Caucasian mothers who delivered preterm ( n = 22) and term ( n = 30). We collected PSS and hair samples of ≥10 cm in length from mothers after delivery. Hair was segmented into three sections, and cortisol was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: The mean gestational age was 31.45 ( SD = 4.2) weeks for preterm deliveries and 39.45 ( SD = 1.1) for term. Cortisol differed significantly in the third trimester between mothers delivering term and preterm ( t = 2.16, df = 48, p = .04) and trended toward significance in the second trimester ( t = 1.88, df = 48, p = .06). PSS differed significantly between the two groups ( t = −2.96, df = 50, p = .05). Our data did not provide support for our hypothesis. Conclusion: There appeared to be a blunted, flattened pattern of change in cortisol levels across gestation in the women who delivered preterm, suggesting diminished hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis responsiveness in mechanisms that promote preterm labor. Future studies are needed to further evaluate best strategies for measuring the mechanisms of allostatic load during pregnancy along with the psychoneuroendocrine and immune triggers and placental responses that lead to premature birth.

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