[Influence of occupational stress on salivary immunoglobulin G concentration in employees].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the possibility of salivary immunoglobulin G(IgG) as an objective assessment index for occupational stress. METHODS: In September 2014, a total of 186 employees in a solar photovoltaic company were selected as research subjects, and a questionnaire survey was performed. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure salivary IgG concentration. RESULTS: The salivary IgG concentration showed a significant difference between employees with different working years and shifts(P<0.05). The employees with ≤15 working years had a lower salivary IgG concentration than those with >20 working years (49.93±7.97 µg/ml vs 53.80±8.22 µg/ml), and the employees with long-day shifts had a higher salivary IgG concentration than those with day-night shifts(54.98±7.62 µg/ml vs 51.85±7.94 µg/ml). The employees with low levels of job demands and job danger had a significantly higher salivary IgG concentration than those with high levels(54.09±6.68 µg/ml vs 50.65±8.81 µg/ml, P<0.05; 53.73±7.35 µg/ml vs 50.73±8.73 µg/ml, P<0.05). The employees with a high score of mental health had a significantly higher salivary IgG concentration than those with a low score(54.39±5.28 µg/ml vs 50.73±9.36 µg/ml, P<0.05). The salivary IgG concentration was positively correlated with the score of mental health(r=0.314, P<0.05), but negatively correlated with job demands, job routinization, job danger, job prospects, physical complaints, and daily stress(r=-0.249, -0.159, -0.157, -0.030, -0.035, and -0.176, all P<0.05). The multivariate linear regression analysis showed that the salivary IgG concentration was mainly influenced by job demands and mental health. CONCLUSION: Salivary IgG concentration can be applied as an objective assessment index for occupational stress.