The aim of this study was to ascertain the level of occupational stress before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, how it changed, and its association with health outcomes of hospital workers in the Recôncavo of Bahia, Brazil. A longitudinal study was conducted with 218 hospital workers over 18 years old. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for collecting sociodemographic, occupational, lifestyle, anthropometric, and health data. The main exposures were occupational stress, assessed through Job Content Questionnaire and classified according to the Demand-Control Model and reported shift work. Health outcomes considered were nutritional status assessed by Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist Circumference (WC), and Body Fat Percentage (BF%); health self-perception; and cardiovascular risk factors. We used McNemar chi-squared or Wilcoxon tests to compare levels of exposure and outcome variables before and during the pandemic, and odds ratios to evaluate associations between changes in occupational stress and shiftwork with health outcomes. During the pandemic, participants reported increased occupational stress and shift work, lower self-perceived health, and had higher BMI and cardiovascular risk factors, compared with before the pandemic. No association was observed between change in occupational stress and health outcomes. However, increased amount of shift work was related to increased BMI in the overall sample (OR 3.79, CI95% 1.40-10.30), and in health workers (OR 11.56; CI95% 2.57-52.00). These findings support calls to strengthen labour policies to ensure adequate working conditions for hospital workers in context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To analyze the relation between nutritional status, food habits and physical activity level in schoolchildren. A cross-sectional study was carried out with 661 schoolchildren, from 6 to 14 years old, enrolled in public and private schools located in the urban area of Ouro Preto, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. A semi-structured questionnaire was applied to collect data on demographic, socio-economic, anthropometric and level of physical activity variables. Schoolchildren were classified according to criteria for body mass index by age, body fat percentage and physical activity level, respectively. Dietary data were collected through a validated food frequency questionnaire specific for children and adolescents. Food consumption was evaluated according to an adaptation of the Recommended Foods Score, whose objective is the assessment of overall diet quality with a focus on healthy food consumption. We observed high frequency of overweight according to body mass index per age (20.1%) and body fat percentage (22.8%), as well as physical inactivity (80.3%) among schoolchildren. We also found low scores on the Recommended Foods Score in 77.2% of students. There was no significant relation between overweight and physical inactivity or food consumption (p > 0.05). Schoolchildren had a high frequency of overweight, which, alone, was not associated with the high physical inactivity and the low quality diet observed. Therefore, more studies should be performed to identify other factors besides those already described, which may be influencing overweight in this population.

This longitudinal study aimed to evaluate the association between dietary patterns and the body composition of hospital workers subjected to occupational stressors before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data on sociodemographic, occupational, lifestyle, anthropometric, food consumption and occupational stress were collected before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 218 workers from a private hospital in Santo Antônio de Jesus, Bahia, Brazil were included in the study. After evaluating the normality of the data, parametric or non-parametric tests were used to characterize the sample. Dietary pattern was defined with Exploratory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling was used to test the desired association. During the pandemic, work per shift increased by 8.2% (p = 0.004) and working hours > 40 h/week increased by 9.2% (p = 0.006). Despite the higher prevalence of low occupational stress (85.8% vs. 72.1%), high stress increased by 13.7% from 2019 to 2020 (p < 0.001) and 30.3% reported a positive mediating effect on the variables of body composition, body mass index (b = 0.478; p < 0.001), waist circumference (b = 0.395; p = 0.001), fat-free mass (b = 0.440; p = 0.001) and fat mass (b = −0.104; p = 0.292). Therefore, a dietary pattern containing high-calorie foods was associated with changes in the body composition of hospital workers, including occupational stressors as mediators of this relationship.

Background/objective: This study is a systematic review and meta-analysis that aims to systematize and synthesize the results of observational studies which demonstrated the occupational stress influence in workers’ health. Methods: The literature review was carried out through searches in PUBMED, WEB OF SCIENCE, EMBASE, SCOPUS, CINAHL, PSCYINFO, and LILACS databases, from July to October 2020, and updated in October 2021. Observational studies that considered occupational stress as exposure, accessed it by the Job Content Questionnaire, and evaluated its influence in workers’ health were included, regardless of their publication year. The risk of bias of the included studies was assessed through the Research Triangle Institute Item Bank on Risk of Bias and Precision of Observational Studies. Results: For the qualitative analysis, the search strategy retained 42 studies, including 182187 participants. Among retained studies, the influence of occupational stress was examined in cardiovascular diseases (CVD) (n=10), as primary outcome, and metabolic syndrome (MS) (n=5), dyslipidemias (n=15), and obesity (n=22), as additional outcomes. Systematized evidence showed that high levels of occupational stress appear to be associated with CVD and MS. However, its influence in dyslipidemias and obesity remain unclear. Meta-analyses of these clinical conditions showed significant associations between occupational stress and CVD (OR 1.34; 95%CI 1.15-1.57) and MS (OR 2.75, CI95% 1.97-3.83), but no significant effect between stress at work and dyslipidemias and obesity. Conclusions: A consistent adverse effect of occupational stress was observed on CVD and MS, considering studies with high methodological quality (low risk of bias). These findings can contribute to the development of actions to attenuate the stress at work to provide a better quality of life for workers. Other: This work received no specific grant from any funding agency and was registered on the PROSPERO platform under the CDR protocol number 102751.

This systematic review aimed to identify the influence of occupational stress on the body mass index of hospital workers. After registering the protocol at PROSPERO (CRD42022331846), we started this systematic review following a search in seven databases, gray literature, as well as manual search and contact with specialists. The selection of studies was performed independently by two evaluators following the inclusion criteria: observational studies evaluating adult hospital workers, in which occupational stress was considered exposure and body composition as a result. The risk of bias in the included studies was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal checklist. We used the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation to grade the certainty of the evidence. Qualitative results were presented and synthesized through a qualitative approach, with simplified information in a narrative form. A total of 12 studies met the eligibility criteria and were included. This review comprised 10,885 workers (2312 men; 1582 women; and 6991 workers whose gender was not identified). Ten studies were carried out only with health workers, and two included workers from other sectors besides health workers. This review showed a relationship between occupational stress and changes in body mass index in hospital workers. However, most studies presented a moderate or high risk of bias and low quality of the evidence. These findings can be useful for clinical practice, administrators and leaders and provide insights for future research in the field of worker health in the hospital setting.

Working in a hospital environment is known for presenting unhealthy features that affect the workers’ health—features which have currently been intensified due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, this longitudinal study aimed to ascertain the level of job stress before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, how this changed, and its association with the dietary patterns of hospital workers. Data on sociodemographic, occupational, lifestyle, health, anthropometric, dietetic, and occupational stress were collected before and during the pandemic from 218 workers at a private hospital in the Recôncavo of Bahia, Brazil. McNemar’s chi-square test was used for comparison purposes, Exploratory Factor Analysis to identify dietary patterns, and Generalized Estimating Equations to evaluate the interested associations. During the pandemic, participants reported increased occupational stress, shift work, and weekly workloads, compared with before the pandemic. Additionally, three dietary patterns were identified before and during the pandemic. No association was observed between changes in occupational stress and dietary pattens. However, COVID-19 infection was related to changes in pattern A (0.647, IC95%0.044;1.241, p = 0.036) and the amount of shift work related to changes in pattern B, (0.612, IC95%0.016;1.207, p = 0.044). These findings support calls to strengthen labour policies to ensure adequate working conditions for hospital workers in the pandemic context.