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  • Association between psychosocial work conditions and latent alcohol consumption trajectories among men and women over a 16-year period in a national Canadian sample

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Alcohol
Association between psychosocial work conditions and latent alcohol consumption trajectories among men and women over a 16-year period in a national Canadian sample
  1. Kathleen G Dobson1,2,
  2. Selahadin Ibrahim1,
  3. Mahée Gilbert-Ouimet1,3,
  4. Cameron A Mustard1,2,
  5. Peter M Smith1,2,4
  1. 1 Institute for Work and Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  2. 2 Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  3. 3 Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
  4. 4 Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
  1. Correspondence to Kathleen G Dobson, Institute for Work & Health, Toronto, Ontario M5G2E9, Canada; kathleen.dobson{at}mail.utoronto.ca

Abstract

Background It is unclear how psychosocial working conditions influence future alcohol consumption. Using group-based trajectory modelling, this study aimed to determine: the number of latent alcohol consumption trajectories over 16 years in a representative sample of the Canadian workforce; the association between psychosocial working conditions and longitudinal alcohol consumption; and if the association between psychosocial work factors and longitudinal alcohol consumption differed among men and women.

Methods We included 5458 employed adults from the longitudinal Canadian National Population Health Survey. Average daily alcohol consumption was measured every 2 years from 1994 to 2010. Psychosocial work factors were measured in 1994 using the Job Content Questionnaire. Group-based trajectory modelling was used to derive the appropriate number of alcohol behaviour trajectories. The association between psychosocial work factors and alcohol trajectory membership was estimated using multinomial logistic regression. Models were stratified by sex to determine if these associations differed among men and women.

Results Three alcohol consumption trajectories were present: non-drinkers, light drinkers (0.5–1 drinks/day) and moderate drinkers (2–3 drinks/day). Higher workplace physical exertion and lower social support levels were associated with membership in the moderate drinking trajectory. Among men, lower psychological demands and higher physical exertion levels were associated with membership in the moderate drinking trajectory. Among women, lower levels of physical exertion were associated with membership in the light drinking trajectory, and higher psychological demand levels were associated with membership in the moderate drinking trajectory.

Conclusions Our study suggests that workplace physical exertion and psychological demands may be associated with different alcohol consumption trajectories among men and women.

  • alcohol
  • psychosocial work stress
  • occupational health
  • latent trajectory
  • work environment

https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2017-209691

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors KGD aided in conceiving the study and its design, analysed and interpreted the data, drafted the initial manuscript and approved the final manuscript as submitted. SI aided in conceiving the study and its design, the analysis and interpretation of the data and reviewing and revising the manuscript. MG-O aided in interpreting the data, reviewing and revising the manuscript. CAM conceived the study and its design and aided in interpreting the data, reviewing and revising the manuscript. PS conceived the study and its design, aided in analysing and interpreting the data, reviewing and revising the manuscript. All authors participated in approving the final version to be published and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work by ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work were appropriately investigated and resolved.

    • Funding This study was funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (grant number:310898).

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Ethics approval Statistics Canada and Health Sciences ethics committee at the University of Toronto.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Data sharing statement Currently, the data used for this study are not available for sharing. However, any questions about the results or data used in this study may be directed to the corresponding author.