RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Justice at work and metabolic syndrome: the Whitehall II study JF Occupational and Environmental Medicine JO Occup Environ Med FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd SP 256 OP 262 DO 10.1136/oem.2009.047324 VO 67 IS 4 A1 David Gimeno A1 Ádám G Tabák A1 Jane E Ferrie A1 Martin J Shipley A1 Roberto De Vogli A1 Marko Elovainio A1 Jussi Vahtera A1 Michael G Marmot A1 Mika Kivimäki YR 2010 UL http://oem.bmj.com/content/67/4/256.abstract AB Objectives Growing evidence shows that high levels of justice are beneficial for employee health, although biological mechanisms underlying this association are yet to be clarified. We aim to test whether high justice at work protects against metabolic syndrome.Methods A prospective cohort study of 20 civil service departments in London (the Whitehall II study) including 6123 male and female British civil servants aged 35–55 years without prevalent coronary heart disease at baseline (1985–1990). Perceived justice at work was determined by means of questionnaire on two occasions between 1985 and 1990. Follow-up for metabolic syndrome and its components occurring from 1990 to 2004 was based on clinical assessments on three occasions over more than 18 years.Results Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for age, ethnicity and employment grade showed that men who experienced a high level of justice at work had a lower risk of incident metabolic syndrome than employees with a low level of justice (HR 0.75; 95% CI 0.63 to 0.89). There was little evidence of an association between organisational justice and metabolic syndrome or its components in women (HR 0.88; 95% CI 0.67 to 1.17).Conclusions Our prospective findings provide evidence of an association between high levels of justice at work and the development of metabolic syndrome in men.