Relationship Between Emotional Demands in Personal Interaction Jobs and Increased Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Recent research published in Occupational & Environmental Medicine highlights a significant link between the emotional and confrontational demands inherent in roles involving direct contact with clients, patients, or the public, and an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The study analyzed data from the Swedish Work, Illness, and Labour-market Participation (SWIP) cohort, encompassing around 5.4 million individuals aged 16 to 65, focusing on those aged 30 to 60 without prior diabetes diagnosis or antidiabetic medication use.

The researchers examined three key aspects of person-contact roles: general interaction with people, emotional challenges related to managing serious health or personal issues of others, and confrontational incidents. They assessed workplace social support levels, finding that low social support magnifies the adverse effects of emotional demands and confrontation on diabetes risk.

Over the period from 2006 to 2020, approximately 216,640 participants developed type 2 diabetes, with increased risks observed among those exposed to high levels of emotional or confrontational work stressors. Women experiencing high emotional demands coupled with low social support faced up to a 47% higher risk of developing the condition. Notably, in women, the association between general contact with people and diabetes risk diminished after accounting for job control.

The findings suggest that stressful interactions and emotional management at work can lead to biological changes, such as chronic stress effects on the neuroendocrine system, resulting in increased cortisol production, insulin resistance, and reduced insulin sensitivity. These stressors, compounded by insufficient social support, may contribute to metabolic disturbances linked to type 2 diabetes.

The study emphasizes the importance of workplace emotional support and stress management strategies, especially for workers in human service sectors like healthcare, social work, education, and security, where emotional labor is prominent. Despite some limitations—such as reliance on job exposure matrices that don't capture individual experiences—the research underscores the profound impact of occupational emotional demands on metabolic health.

For more details, see the full study: Person-related work and the risk of type 2 diabetes: a Swedish register-based cohort study, published in Occupational & Environmental Medicine (2025). [DOI: 10.1136/oemed-2025-110088].

Source: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-06-emotional-demands-person-contact-roles.html