Stephen A Stansfeld

• PhD
• Professor at University of London

Background Evidence on workplace bullying and harassment (WBH) in the UK has not used probability-sample surveys with robust mental health assessments. This study aimed to profile the prevalence and nature of WBH in England, identify inequalities in exposure, and quantify adjusted associations with mental health. Methods Data were from the 2014 Ad...

ABSTRACT Objective This study examines whether there is an independent association between mental difficulties in adolescence and educational attainment at age 16. Design Longitudinal study. Setting Nationally representative data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) were linked to the National Pupil Database for England. Participants Re...

Background Both physical and psychological health outcomes have been associated with exposure to environmental noise. Noise sensitivity could have the same moderating effect on physical and psychological health outcomes related to environmental noise exposure as on annoyance but this has been little tested. Methods A cohort of 2398 men between 45...

Background Few studies have considered aircraft noise annoyance and noise sensitivity in analyses of the health effects of aircraft noise, especially in relation to medication use. This study aims to investigate the moderating and mediating role of these two factors in the relationship between aircraft noise levels and medication use among 5860 res...

Introduction: Many studies, including the HYENA and the DEBATS studies, showed a significant association between aircraft noise exposure and the risk of hypertension. Few studies have considered aircraft noise annoyance and noise sensitivity as factors of interest, especially in relation to hypertension risk, or as mediating or modifying factors....

Background: Both physical and psychological health outcomes have been associated with exposure to environmental noise. It is not known whether all individuals are equally susceptible to these effects. Noise sensitivity has chiefly been examined in studies of annoyance where it has been shown to moderate the annoyance responses to transport-related...

Chronic health conditions are hypothesized to disrupt the typical trajectory of child and adolescent development, and subsequently lead to increased levels of mental illness. However, due to methodological limitations in existing studies, this theory remains to be fully substantiated by empirical research. This study aimed to more thoroughly test h...

Background Both physical and psychological health outcomes have been associated with exposure to environmental noise. It is not known whether all individuals are equally susceptible to these effects. Noise sensitivity has chiefly been examined in studies of annoyance where it has been shown to moderate the annoyance responses to transport-related n...

Background UK state pension eligibility ages are linked to average life expectancy, which ignores wide socioeconomic disparities in both healthy and overall life expectancy. Objectives Investigate whether there are occupational social class differences in the amount of time older adults live after they stop work, and how much of these differences...

Many developed nations seek to increase older people’s work participation. Work and family are linked to paid work in later life, and to each other. Few studies combined work and family histories using multichannel sequence analysis capturing status and timing of transitions in relation to work in later life. Using the MRC National Survey of Health...

Several studies have documented that older workers who live in areas with higher unemployment rates are more likely to leave work for health and non-health reasons. Due to tracking of area disadvantage over the life course, and because negative individual health and socioeconomic factors are more likely to develop in individuals from disadvantaged...

Background There is limited evidence for public health policy-makers on the health impacts of urban regeneration programmes. Objectives To assess whether or not the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and related urban regeneration, were associated with an increase in physical activity and mental health and well-being; to assess whether or n...

According to the ‘use it or lose it’ hypothesis, a lack of mentally challenging activities might exacerbate the loss of cognitive function. On this basis, retirement has been suggested to increase the risk of cognitive decline, but evidence from studies with long follow-up is lacking. We tested this hypothesis in a cohort of 3433 civil servants who...

Background: Being overweight constitutes a health risk, and the proportion of overweight and obese children is increasing. It has been argued that road traffic noise could be linked to adiposity through its influence on sleep and stress. Few studies, to our knowledge, have investigated whether noise and adiposity are associated. Most of them were...

Objectives Past studies have identified socioeconomic inequalities in the timing and route of labour market exit at older ages. However, few studies have compared these trends cross-nationally and existing evidence focuses on specific institutional outcomes (such as disability pension and sickness absence) in Nordic countries. We examined differenc...

Background An increasing number of children are exposed to road traffic noise levels that may lead to adverse effects on health and daily functioning. Childhood is a period of intense growth and brain maturation, and children may therefore be especially vulnerable to road traffic noise. The objective of the present study was to examine whether road...

Recent years have seen an increased focus on the high rates of psychiatric comorbidities in adults with chronic illness. This systematic review explored whether chronic illness in adolescents was similarly associated with poor psychiatric outcomes. The literature search identified 129 articles, only 5 of which were indicated to be at a low risk of...

This study investigated associations of cumulative mid-life working conditions and mental health with transitions out of paid employment. Participants were 7587 men and women with work measures on at least 2 out of 3 occasions from phases 1 to 3 of the Whitehall II study (mean age 50). Mid-life cumulative working conditions were defined as the numb...

Adulthood psychological ill-health has implications for receipt of disability pension but less is known about the impact on other types of labour force participation and exit, or about the role of childhood psychological ill-health. This study examined associations between labour force participation at 55 years and lifecourse psychological health u...

Public expenditure on mega-events such as the London 2012 Olympic Games is often justified by the potential legacy of urban regeneration and its associated health and wellbeing benefits for local communities. The ORiEL (Olympic Regeneration in East London) study examined whether urban regeneration associated with the 2012 Games was associated with...

Purpose The purpose of the study is to test whether bullying in adolescents relates to poor mental health and whether social support mitigated this effect. Methods In 2001, 28 schools in East London were randomly selected for surveys of two representative mixed ability classes: year 7 (11–12 years) and year 9 (13–14 years). Repeated measures were...

Almost half of the European Union (EU)’s population is exposed to road traffic noise above levels that constitute a health risk. Associations between road traffic noise and impaired sleep in adults have consistently been reported. Less is known about effects of noise on children’s sleep. The aim of this study was to examine the association between...

WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff was commissioned by the UK Government Department of Energy and Climate Change to undertake a review of research into the effects of and response to the acoustic character of wind turbine noise known as amplitude modulation (AM), or more specifically an increased level of modulation of aerodynamic noise as perceived at nei...

Purpose This study aims to examine workplace stress in a random sample of litigated cases heard in UK courts. The majority of claims related to clinical depression. The alleged causes of workplace stress most commonly cited in the litigation included excessive workload, followed by poor management practices; organisational, economic or technical ch...

Background It is important to determine whether unhealthy behaviours might influence transitions out of employment from midlife to old age, given the anticipated need for adults to work for longer. Our aim was to determine the association between repeated assessments of cigarette smoking, heavy/problem alcohol drinking, low physical activity and po...

Objective: This study investigated associations between informal caregiving and exit from paid employment among older workers in the United Kingdom. Method: Information on caregiving and work status for 8,473 older workers (aged 50-75 years) was drawn from five waves of Understanding Society (2009-2014). We used discrete-time survival models to...

Aims and method To identify causes of stress at work as well as individual, organisational and personal interventions used by employees to manage stress in public, private and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Qualitative interviews were conducted with 51 employees from a range of organisations. Results Participants reported adverse working co...

Background: Evidence on the interplay between obesity, physical activity and traumatic dental injuries (TDI) is still inconclusive and heavily based on cross-sectional studies. The aim of this study was to explore the interrelationship of obesity and physical activity at age 11-12 years with TDI at age 15-16-years among schoolchildren from East Lo...

Background Childhood adversity predicts adolescent suicidal ideation but there are few studies examining whether the risk of childhood adversity extends to suicidal ideation in midlife. We hypothesized that childhood adversity predicts midlife suicidal ideation and this is partially mediated by adolescent internalizing disorders, externalizing diso...

Common mental disorders (CMDs) comprise different types of depression and anxiety. They cause marked emotional distress and interfere with daily function,but do not usually affect insight or cognition. Although usually less disabling than major psychiatric disorders, their higher prevalence means the cumulative cost of CMDs to society is great. The...

Comorbidity refers to the presence of two or more conditions at the same time. In the 2007 report in this series, comorbidity between mental disorders was examined. In this chapter comorbidity across mental disorders, chronic physical conditions, psychological wellbeing and intellectual impairment is profiled. • Physical health conditions were meas...

WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff was commissioned by the United Kingdom (UK) Government Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to undertake a review of research into the effects of and response to the acoustic character of wind turbine noise known as Amplitude Modulation (AM). More specifically the review dealt with the increased level of modulat...

Objective: Policy in many industrialized countries increasingly emphasizes extended working life. We examined associations between physical and cognitive capability in mid-adulthood and work in late adulthood. Methods: Using self-reported physical limitations and performance-based physical and cognitive capability at age 53, assessed by trained...

WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff was commissioned by the United Kingdom (UK) Government Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to undertake a review of research into the effects of and response to the acoustic character of wind turbine noise known as Amplitude Modulation (AM). More specifically the review dealt with the increased level of modulat...

Background Despite the growing popularity of mixed-methods studies and considerable emphasis on the potential value of qualitative research to the trial endeavour, there remains a dearth of published studies reporting on actual contribution. This paper presents a critically reflective account of our experience of the actual value of undertaking qua...

Purpose: Cyberbullying differs from face-to-face bullying and may negatively influence adolescent mental health, but there is a lack of definitive research on this topic. This study examines longitudinal associations between cyberbullying involvement and adolescent mental health. Methods: Participants were 2,480 teenagers taking part in the Olym...

Background: South Africa is one of the most 'unequal' societies in the world. Despite apartheid ending more than 20 years ago, material inequalities remain interwoven with ethnic/racial inequalities. There is limited research on the prevalence/predictors of common mental disorders (CMD) among young people. Adolescence is a unique time-point during...

Distribution of single asset indicator by ethnicity. (DOCX)

Demographic features of the sample. (DOCX)

Distribution of mediators by ethnicity and material disadvantage. (DOCX)

Association of mediators with CMD and PTSD after adjustment for disadvantage indicators and gender. (DOCX)

Population ageing in Western countries has made delayed retirement and extended working life a policy priority in recent years. Retirement timing has been linked to individual factors such as health and wealth, but less is known about the role of the psychosocial work environment. This paper drew upon longitudinal data on 3462 workers aged 50–69 fr...

Background: In many developed countries, associations have been documented between higher levels of area unemployment and workforce exit, mainly for disability pension receipt. Health of individuals is assumed to be the primary driver of this relationship, but no study has examined whether health explains or modifies this relationship. METHODS: We...

Aim: To explore the association between alcohol consumption at age 11-12 years and traumatic dental injuries (TDI) at age 15-16 years. Methods: Data of 635 adolescents who participated in phases I and III of the Research with East London Adolescents Community Health Survey (RELACHS), a longitudinal school-based survey of a representative sample...

The Guidelines include systematic reviews of the scientific evidence of the critical health effects of environmental noise: effects on sleep, annoyance, cognitive impairment, cardiovasc ular diseases, hearing impairment and tinnitus. Other potential health outcomes with less evidence are also systematically reviewed, but have less impact on the dev...

Objective: Meeting the complex needs of patients with chronic common mental health disorders (CMHDs) may be the greatest challenge facing organized medical practice. On the basis of a well-established and proven theoretical foundation for controlled respiration as a behavioral intervention for CMHDs, as well as preliminary evidence that gamificati...

For public health policy and planning it is important to understand the relative contribution of environmental noise on health compared to other environmental stressors. Air pollution is the primary environmental stressor in relation to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. This paper reports a narrative review of studies in which the association...

AimTo explore the relationship between problem behaviour and traumatic dental injuries (TDI) among 15- to 16-year-old schoolchildren from East London.Methods This cross-sectional study used data from 794 adolescents who participated in phase III of the Research with East London Adolescents Community Health Survey (RELACHS), a school-based prospecti...

The impact of work-family conflict on common mental disorders (CMD) has been examined in cross-sectional studies. The current paper examines work-family conflict and its effect on CMD in a large nationally representative longitudinal sample. This study uses data from the 1958 British birth cohort study, a longitudinal, prospective cohort study of m...

This study examines the extent to which in adolescent positive mental well-being and depressive symptoms vary across ethnic groups, and prospectively examines whether social support is protective against low/poor well-being and depression. A longitudinal survey of 2426 adolescents from the Olympic Regeneration in East London study measured well-bei...

Environmental noise exposure, such as road traffic noise and aircraft noise, is associated with a range of health outcomes in children. Children demonstrate annoyance responses to noise, and noise is also related to lower well-being and stress responses, such as increased levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline. Noise does not cause more serious men...

Objectives To investigate the feasibility of recruitment, adherence and likely effectiveness of an e-learning intervention for managers to improve employees’ well-being and reduce sickness absence. Methods The GEM Study (guided e-learning for managers) was a mixed methods pilot cluster randomised trial. Employees were recruited from four mental hea...

Background Populations living in urban areas experience greater health inequalities as well as higher absolute burdens of illness. It is well-established that a range of social and environmental factors determine these differences. Less is known about the relative importance of these factors in determining adolescent health within a super diverse u...

Aim: To explore the association between school bullying and traumatic dental injuries (TDI) among 15-16-year-old school children from East London. Design: Data from phase III of the Research with East London Adolescents Community Health Survey (RELACHS), a school-based prospective study of a representative sample of adolescents, were analysed. A...

The extent to which social relationships influence cognitive aging is unclear. In this study, we investigated the association of midlife quality of close relationships with subsequent cognitive decline. Participants in the Whitehall II Study (n = 5,873; ages 45–69 years at first cognitive assessment) underwent executive function and memory tests 3...

Introduction The London 2012 Olympic Games aimed to “inspire a generation” by increasing participation in sport through ‘demonstration effects’ – where individuals’ motivations are influenced by observing the actions of others. Here we evaluate whether adolescents’ participation in Olympic-related sports increased post-games, and whether changes...

This study investigates potential explanations of the association between caring and common mental disorder, using the English Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2007. We examined whether carers are more exposed to other stressors additional to caring – such as domestic violence and debt – and if so whether this explains their elevated rates of men...

Background The London 2012 Olympic Games aimed to “inspire a generation” by increasing participation in sport through ‘demonstration effects’ – where individuals’ motivations are influenced by observing the actions of others. Here we evaluate whether adolescents’ participation in Olympic-related sports increased post-games, and whether changes were...

Background The extent to which social relationships influence cognitive ageing is unclear. This study investigates the impact of mid-lif quality of close relationships on cognitive decline, using multilevel modelling. Methods Whitehall II study participants (n = 6495, aged 45–69 at baseline) provided cognitive assessments (executive function and me...

While it is generally accepted that high job strain is associated with adverse occupational outcomes, the nature of this relationship and the causal pathways involved are not well elucidated. We aimed to assess the association between job strain and long-term sickness absence (LTSA), and investigate whether any associations could be explained by va...

In environmental epidemiological investigations, information on morbidity in terms of diagnoses are usually collected from registers or self-reports in questionnaires or interviews. The presence of symptoms is also collected via questionnaires or interviews. Researchers may try to improve the validity of self-reported diagnoses by specifically aski...

Much of the adult life is spent in the workplace. Working provides many benefits in terms of financial resources, social status, boosting self-esteem, and providing a social network. However, the workplace can have negative as well as positive effects on mental health and behavioral disorders. High levels of demands at work without the compensation...

Systematic reviews examining associations of depressive disorder with coronary heart disease and stroke produce mixed results. Failure to consider reverse causation and dose-response patterns may have caused inconsistencies in evidence. This prospective cohort study on depressive disorder, coronary heart disease, and stroke analysed reverse causati...

This paper explores whether certain sub-groups of the UK population are more or less noise sensitive, using the 2012 National Noise Attitude Survey (NNAS 2012) dataset. NNAS 2012 was a community questionnaire survey of 2747 respondents in the UK, which measured attitudes to environmental noise. Data relating to a range of sociodemographic, dwelling...

Purpose Social capital is emerging as an important component of mental well-being. Our aim was to assess the relationship between social capital and common mental disorders and to explore the role of social capital in the relationship between deprivation and common mental disorders. Methods This study used data collected from 7023 adults in Englan...

Well-being is an important health outcome and a potential national indicator of policy success. There is a need for longitudinal epidemiological surveys to understand determinants of well-being. This study examines the role of personal social support and psychosocial work environment as predictors of well-being in an occupational cohort study. Soci...

The general health questionnaire (GHQ) is commonly used to assess symptoms of common mental disorder (CMD). Prevalence estimates for CMD caseness from UK population studies are thought to be in the range of 14-17%, and the UK occupational studies of which we are aware indicate a higher prevalence. This review will synthesise the existing research u...

Noise is pervasive in everyday life and can cause both auditory and non-auditory health effects. Noise-induced hearing loss remains highly prevalent in occupational settings, and is increasingly caused by social noise exposure (eg, through personal music players). Our understanding of molecular mechanisms involved in noise-induced hair-cell and ner...

The link seems real: planners take note Environmental noise is an understudied environmental pollutant that has important implications for public health and policy. Although studies of exposure to aircraft noise have examined the risk of hypertension,1 few have examined the risk of cardiovascular disease.2 One early study suggested that exposure t...

Few studies have examined how the settlement experiences of migrant parents might impact on the downstream adult health of second-generation minority ethnic children. We used prospective data to establish if childhood adversity relating to the settlement experiences of Irish-born parents might account for downstream adverse health-related behaviour...

Cognitive ability is negatively associated with functional somatic symptoms (FSS) in childhood. Lower childhood cognitive ability might also predict FSS and functional somatic syndromes in adulthood. However, it is unknown whether this association would be modified by subjective and objective measures of parental academic expectations. 14 068 parti...

Background In terms of mental health, employment is generally better for people than joblessness. But is that still the case when the choice is between unemployment and a demanding job with low levels of control, security and reward? The prevalence of psychiatric disorders among people who are unemployed has rarely been compared with those in jobs...

Cross-sectional evidence that environmental noise exposure at school shows negative associations with children's cognition and health has increased, yet longitudinal evidence is lacking. This study examined longitudinal associations of aircraft noise exposure at primary school on children's reading comprehension, noise annoyance, and psychological...

School factors are associated with many health outcomes in adolescence. However, previous studies report inconsistent findings regarding the degree of school-level variation for health outcomes, particularly for risk behaviours. This study uses data from three large longitudinal studies in England to investigate school-level variation in a range of...

Background Self-harm is prevalent in adolescence. It is often a behaviour without verbal expression, seeking relief from a distressed state of mind. As most adolescents who self-harm do not seek help, the nature of adolescent self-harm and reasons for not disclosing it are a public health concern. This study aims to increase understanding about how...