ArticlePloS one2017
At-risk and intervention thresholds of occupational stress using a visual analogue scale.
Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers.
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Who cites it
44 citing papers in PubMed.
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- Teleworking as the main risk factor for sedentary behavior: the COVISTRESS international study.PloS one · 2026Observational
- Validation of visual analogue scales to assess occupational stress compared to the Karasek questionnaire: A cross sectional study.PloS one · 2026Observational
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- Influence of Socio-Demographic, Occupational and Lifestyle Variables on Sleep Time.Nature and science of sleep · 2025Article
- Protocol for a pseudo-randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of eco-driving assistance systems on bus drivers' stress responses.Environmental health and preventive medicine · 2025Article
- Psychosocial well-being index and sick leave in the workplace: a structural equation modeling of Wittyfit data.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Efficacy of Nortriptyline and Migraine Lifestyle Modifications in Vestibular Migraine Management.Clinical otolaryngology : official journal of ENT-UK ; official journal of Netherlands Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology & Cervico-Facial Surgery · 2025Article
- Bone Cement Reperfusion Revision Surgery for Symptomatic Recurrence of Kümmell's Disease After Percutaneous Kyphoplasty.Global spine journal · 2024Article
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- Preferences Regarding Information Strategies for Digital Mental Health Interventions Among Medical Students: Discrete Choice Experiment.JMIR formative research · 2024Article
- Montreal Cognitive Assessment test: Psychometric analysis of a South African workplace sample.African journal of psychological assessment · 2024Article
- Stress and job satisfaction over time, the influence of the managerial position: A bivariate longitudinal modelling of Wittyfit data.PloS one · 2024Article
- Treatment patterns and clinician stress related to care of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients with a do not attempt resuscitation order.Resuscitation plus · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe visual analogue scale (VAS) is widely used in clinical practice by occupational physicians to assess perceived stress in workers. However, a single cut-off (black-or-white decision) inadequately discriminates between workers with and without stress. We explored an innovative statistical approach to distinguish an at-risk population among stressed workers, and to establish a threshold over which an action is urgently required, via the use of two cut-offs.
methodsParticipants were recruited during annual work medical examinations by a random sample of workers from five occupational health centres. We previously proposed a single cut-off of VAS stress in comparison with the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS14). Similar methodology was used in the current study, along with a gray zone approach. The lower limit of the gray zone supports sensitivity ("at-risk" threshold; interpreted as requiring closer surveillance) and the upper limit supports specificity (i.e. "intervention" threshold-emergency action required).
resultsWe included 500 workers (49.6% males), aged 40±11 years, with a PSS14 score of 3.8±1.4 and a VAS score of 4.0±2.4. Using a receiver operating characteristic curve and the PSS cut-off score of 7.2, the optimal VAS threshold was 6.8 (sensitivity = 0.89, specificity = 0.87). The lower and upper thresholds of the gray zone were 5 and 8.2, respectively.
conclusionsWe identified two clinically relevant cut-offs on the VAS of stress: a first cut-off of 5.0 for an at-risk population, and a second cut-off of 8.2 over which an action is urgently required. Future investigations into the relationships between this upper threshold and deleterious events are required.
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