| Cardiovascular disease is becoming an increasingly important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. There is growing evidence that psychosocial factors play an important role in the aetiology of CVD.;The objective of the study is: to test the psychometric properties of the 5 established stress models: (1) Effort-Reward Imbalance model, (2) Job Strain model, (3) Social Support scales, (4) Perceived Stress Scale and (5) Family Strain Scale among three samples: (1) 421 working women in Beijing, China; (2) 103 patients of both genders with hypertension and 103 control subjects in Hong Kong; (3) 187 Chinese-American residents of San Francisco, USA.;The questionnaire survey obtained information on the participant's socioeconomic status, stress parameters, traumatic life events and health behaviors. Biological parameters were also collected in three samples.;The results of study one demonstrated that the internal consistency of Effort-Reward Imbalance, Perceived Stress Scale, Social Support Scale and Family Stress Scale was satisfactory and that the thoeretically-postulated structure of the scales of the work stress questionnaires can be replicated in Chinese population.;Effort-reward imbalance, job strain as well as family strain were each significantly associated with increased systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. Dual exposure to stress at work and family stress was significantly associated with a further increase in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Symptoms of suspected heart disease and recurrent sleeping problems were associated with all subscales of the study instruments except for the job support and attachment subscale.;The hypothetical models of Effort Reward Imbalance and Job Strain were not supported in this HK case-control study. However, those who worked in the private sector and having dependent children had increased risk for development of hypertension.;In the San Francisco study, high psychological job demand and holding a second job were independent risk factors for increased IMT in the adjusted models.;In conclusion, the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of above 5 models have been validated. There is also evidence that family strain and working context have independent effects on psychosomatic health and CVD risks in this population of Chinese working women. |
