The mediating effect of lifestyle behaviors on the relationship between self-perceived work stress and suboptimal health status: a cross-sectional study involving Chinese urban workers

Study Design

Cross-sectional study.

Objectives

Suboptimal health status (SHS) is a third state between health and disease. Long-term being SHS will be detrimental to one's ability development. Previous studies have demonstrated the associations of lifestyle behaviors or work stress with SHS, but few studies have comprehensively analyzed the underlying factors and mechanisms between the three.

This study aimed to investigate whether lifestyle behaviors mediated the relationship between self-perceived work stress and SHS.

Methods

A total of 4238 urban workers, who participated in a cross-sectional survey conducted from December 2018 to October 2019, were included. A general linear model was used to explore the associations between lifestyle behaviors and self-perceived work stress with SHS after adjusting for demographic variables. Structural equation modeling was performed to examine the mediation by lifestyle behaviors.

Results

The mean transformed scores of physical, mental, and social SHS were 70.98, 67.17, and 61.72, respectively. Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors and high self-perceived work stress positively affected SHS (P < 0.001). Self-perceived work stress imposed negative effects on physical SHS (β = −0.228, P < 0.001), mental SHS (β = −0.237, P < 0.001), and social SHS (β = −0.092, P < 0.001). The indirect effects of self-perceived work stress on physical SHS (β = −0.139, 95% CI: −0.178 to −0.106), mental SHS (β = −0.106, 95% CI: −0.134 to −0.082), and social SHS (β = −0.121, 95% CI: −0.154 to −0.092) were statistically significant.

Conclusions

Lifestyle behaviors and self-perceived work stress were significantly associated with SHS among Chinese urban workers. The mediating effects of unhealthy lifestyle behaviors were found in the relationship between high self-perceived work stress and SHS. Future longitudinal research may verify these associations and elucidate the underlying mechanisms.