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1. Introduction
Work-related stress is a serious occupational health problem and has been subject to a large amount of research and interest in recent years [1,2,3]. Workplace stress is the physical and emotional response that occurs when job demands are in conflict with the ability, resources or needs of the worker [4]. People spend much of their time at work, and the work environment has a strong impact on psycho-physiological and social wellbeing. Furthermore, work-related stress could have a negative impact on the health of employees and work organizations [5]. Moreover, stress at work is one of the major costs to companies and countries, deeply affecting productivity. Work related stress can hit individuals in various way and is important to consider sociodemographic factors approaching stress-related issues. According to the Sixth European Working Conditions Survey carried out in 2015, structural inequalities and differences in terms of gender, employment status, and occupation were significant [6]. In recent years, some studies investigated possible indicators of the social and occupational determinants of health [7,8,9]. To our knowledge, only a few studies investigated whether physical composite summary (PCS) and mental composite summary (MCS) are modified by age, gender, and educational level. The aim of this study was to determine whether or not there is a relationship between health-related quality of life and work related stress and to explore if socio-demographic characteristics have an influence on this relationship. These hypotheses were tested in a population of workers of some cities in the Lazio region (Italy).
2. Methods
2.1. Study Design
A cross-sectional study was carried from July 2014 to June 2015, following the STROBE Statement [10].
2.2. Setting
Provinces of Frosinone and Rome, Lazio Italy.
2.3. Participants
The study was conducted among various types of workers of some companies (teachers, employees in a supermarket, white collar workers, blue collar workers, and health personnel) administering a structured questionnaire. Participation was voluntary and anonymous. Individuals were eligible to take part to study if they were between 18-65 years old and if they were workers in described setting. Questionnaires were left in each workplace for one week. The subjects resided in the region of Lazio (provinces of Rome and Frosinone). All subjects gave their informed consent for inclusion before they participated in the study....