Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2005 Jul 25:5:78.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-5-78.

Psychophysiological effects of a web-based stress management system: a prospective, randomized controlled intervention study of IT and media workers [ISRCTN54254861]

Dan Hasson  1 , Ulla Maria Anderberg, Töres Theorell, Bengt B Arnetz
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Psychophysiological effects of a web-based stress management system: a prospective, randomized controlled intervention study of IT and media workers [ISRCTN54254861]

Dan Hasson et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: The aim of the present study was to assess possible effects on mental and physical well-being and stress-related biological markers of a web-based health promotion tool.

Methods: A randomized, prospectively controlled study was conducted with before and after measurements, involving 303 employees (187 men and 116 women, age 23-64) from four information technology and two media companies. Half of the participants were offered web-based health promotion and stress management training (intervention) lasting for six months. All other participants constituted the reference group. Different biological markers were measured to detect possible physiological changes.

Results: After six months the intervention group had improved statistically significantly compared to the reference group on ratings of ability to manage stress, sleep quality, mental energy, concentration ability and social support. The anabolic hormone dehydroepiandosterone sulphate (DHEA-S) decreased significantly in the reference group as compared to unchanged levels in the intervention group. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) increased significantly in the intervention group compared to the reference group. Chromogranin A (CgA) decreased significantly in the intervention group as compared to the reference group. Tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) decreased significantly in the reference group compared to the intervention group. Logistic regression analysis revealed that group (intervention vs. reference) remained a significant factor in five out of nine predictive models.

Conclusion: The results indicate that an automatic web-based system might have short-term beneficial physiological and psychological effects and thus might be an opportunity in counteracting some clinically relevant and common stress and health issues of today.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow of participants. The figure illustrates the flow of participants through each stage of the randomized trial. Additionally, the numbers of excluded participants and drop-out rates, including generalized reasons for these actions are depicted.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Website login frequency. This figure illustrates the number of logins on the website made by the intervention group (median 48 logins) and reference group (median 26 logins) respectively, during the study period of six months (p < .0001, 2-tailed).
Figure 3
Figure 3
a-i Two-way ANCOVAs. The figures illustrate the results of the two-way ANCOVA on the significant outcome measures: a) Stress management ability, b) Sleep quality, c) Mental energy, d) Concentration ability, e) Social support, f) DHEA-S, g) NPY, h) CgA and i) TNFα. All measures are covariated for their own baseline levels.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Lecrubier Y. The burden of depression and anxiety in general medicine. J Clin Psychiatry. 2001;62 Suppl 8:4–9; discussion 10-1. - PubMed
    1. Murray CJL, Lopez AD, World Bank. World Health Organization. Harvard School of Public Health . Global burden of disease and injury series, 1. Cambridge, Mass. , published by the Harvard School of Public Health on behalf of the World Health Organization and the World Bank distributed by Harvard Univ. Press; 1996. The global burden of disease : a comprehensive assessment of mortality and disability from diseases, injuries, and risk factors in 1990 and projected to 2020; p. 990.
    1. Kalia M. Assessing the economic impact of stress--the modern day hidden epidemic. Metabolism. 2002;51:49–53. doi: 10.1053/meta.2002.33193. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Risk A, Dzenowagis J. Review of internet health information quality initiatives. J Med Internet Res. 2001;3:E28. doi: 10.2196/jmir.3.4.e28. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fox S, Fallows D. Internet Health Resources: Health searches and email have become more commonplace, but there is room for improvement in searches and overall Internet access. Washington DC , PEW INTERNET & AMERICAN LIFE PROJECT; 2003. p. 42.

Publication types

MeSH terms

Associated data