Nurses experience psychosocial work stress that may negatively affect physical and mental health over time. In this cross-sectional study we investigated prevalence of job stress and oxidative stress in nurses, and determined if significant relationships exist between higher job stress scores and demographic factors and working conditions. Emergency department nurses (n = 42) were recruited from a University Hospital following Institutional Review Board approval. Job stress indicators, effort-reward ratio and overcommitment were evaluated from survey questionnaires using the effort-reward imbalance model, and associations with age, sex, body mass index, and working conditions were measured by logistic regression analysis. Oxidative stress biomarkers, 8-isoprostane, malondialdehyde, and antioxidant levels were measured from urine specimens. Job stress was prevalent with effort-reward ratio > 1 in 93% and overcommitment > 50 in 83% of the study participants. Age, body mass index, years of experience, weekend work, work hours per week, and shift work showed strong associations with effort-reward ratio and overcommitment scores. Malondialdehyde was higher in participants with high overcommitment. We report that psychosocial job stress is prevalent among nurses, as revealed by the high effort-reward and overcommitment scores. Job stress may be reduced through implementation of appropriate stress reduction interventions.
Keywords: effort–reward imbalance; job stress; lipid peroxidation; nurses; oxidative stress.