To investigate the relationship between job stress and the common cold which is one of the most common infectious disease.

A KOSS (Korean Occupational Stress Scale)-based questionnaire survey was conducted targeting 6,699 workers, of which 4,637 questionnaires were returned and the data for 237 were excluded due to poor response and having pulmonary disease other than common cold. Consequently, 4,400 (65.7%) returned questionnaires were analyzed. Multiple logistic regression analysis and multiple linear regression, adjusted for daily life stress, confounding variables and both, were used to evaluate the relationship between job stress and the common cold.

After adjustment for confounding variables and daily life stress, most of the subscales of job stress contributed to an increased risk of common cold.

These results indicated that job stress may play a significant role in increasing the risk of the common cold and that further preventive efforts and studies are needed to reduce job stress and address infectious disease caused by job stress among Korean employees.