Impact of body mass index and blood pressure on perceived stress and professional life stress in information technology workers in Mangalore, Karnataka, India

Work place stress is one of the most important problems experienced by all professionals irrespective of their nature of work. Software industry is affected greatly by the challenges and professionals serving these organizations are often observed under huge stress. This might lead to various health hazards. The present study investigates the impact of body mass index and blood pressure on perceived stress and professional life stress in information technology workers among software professionals in Mangalore city. A total of 100 software employees were included in this study. Based on the Body mass index the subjects were grouped into normal group (n=50) and obese groups (n=50). In the obese group a significant increase (P<0.001) was observed in perceived stress and professional stress score. Further, A significant (P<0.001) increase in the systolic blood pressure and non-significant increase in the diastolic was observed in the obese group. Programs designed to prevent hypertension in the workplace should therefore focus not only on the working environment but also on the way individuals perceive and cope with stress insofar as this influences behaviors directly predisposing to hypertension.