"More or less, everyone is under stress in the workplace. The annual economic burden of work stress amounts to approximately US$ 246 billion in the US. Recognizing stressors at work, job redesign and stress management, disease prevention and rehabilitation are all urgent issues in modern working life."

Professor Li has joined in UCLA since 2019. He shares an appointment between the School of Nursing and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Environmental Health Sciences Department. His research focuses on epidemiological studies on working conditions and health.

Faculty Research and Clinical Expertise

Research: Measurement of psychosocial work characteristics, health-related effects of work stress, as well as interventions in the workplace. I am particularly interested in nursing workforce.

Education

PhD, Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea, 2005

MD, Preventive Medicine, Tongji Medical University, Wuhan, China, 1997

Honors and Awards

2020 Adolph Kammer Authorship Award from the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine August 5, 2010 The Early Career Award by the Stress and Anxiety Research Society (STAR) March 6, 2008 The Early Career Achievement Award by the American Psychological Association (APA), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the Society for Occupational Health Psychology (SOHP) jointly November 30, 2006 The Early Career Award by the International Society of Behavioral Medicine (ISBM)

Publications (selected)

GUARDIANO M, BOY P, SHAPIRSHTEYN G, DOBROZDRAVIC L, CHEN L, YANG H, ROBBINS W, LI J. Working Conditions and Wellbeing among Prison Nurses during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Comparison to Community Nurses. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022, 19 (17): 10955.

MATTHEWS TA, CHEN L, LI J. Increased Job Strain and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality: a Prospective Cohort Study in U.S. Workers. Industrial Health, 2022 Jul 11. doi: 10.2486/indhealth.2021-0233. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35811129.

MATTHEWS TA, CHEN L, OMIDAKHSH N, ZHANG D, HAN X, CHEN Z, SHI L, LI Y, WEN M, LI H, SU D, LI J. Gender Difference in Working from Home and Psychological Distress - A National Survey of U.S. Employees During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Industrial Health, 2022, 60 (4): 334-344.

SHI L, ZHANG D, MARTIN E, CHEN Z, LI H, HAN X, WEN M, CHEN L, LI Y, LI J, CHEN B, RAMOS AK, KING KM, MICHAUD T, SU D. Racial Discrimination, Mental Health and Behavioral Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a National Survey in the United States. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2022, 37 (10): 2496-2504.

LI J, LANDSBERGIS P, SEMBAJWE G, DESCATHA A, SIEGRIST J. Comments to Moretti Anfossi et al.’ s (2022) “Work Exposures and Development of Cardiovascular Diseases: A Systematic Review”: What is Current Scientific Consensus? Annals of Work Exposures and Health, 2022, 66 (6): 822-824.

REZK-HANNA M, WARDA US, STOKES AC, FETTERMAN J, LI J, MACEY PM, DARAWAD M, SONG Y, BEN TALEB Z, BRECHT ML, BENOWITZ NL. Associations of Smokeless Tobacco Use with Cardiovascular Disease Risk: Insights from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2022, 24 (7): 1063-1070.

MATTHEWS TA, SEMBAJWE G, VON KÄNEL R, LI J. Associations of Employment Status with Opioid Misuse: Evidence from a Nationally Representative Survey in the U.S. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 2022, 151: 30-33.

CHIN DL, KYUNG M, LI J, PHELPS S, HONG O. The Short Form Effort-Reward Imbalance: Measure of Occupational Stress for Firefighters. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 2022, 65 (6): 492-499.

SHI Y, ZHU C, JIANG R, ZHANG M, CAI H, HU Z, SUN H, LIU Y, YE Y, MA Y, CAO X, VON KÄNEL R, LI J. Job Burnout is Associated with Slow Improvement of Quality of Life in the Employees after A First Episode of Acute Coronary Syndrome: A Hospital-Based Longitudinal Study in China. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 2022, 152: 110690.

LI J, MATTHEWS TA, CHEN L, SEAMANS M, LEINEWEBER C, SIEGRIST J. Effort-Reward Imbalance at Work and Drug Misuse: Evidence from a National Survey in the U.S. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021, 18 (24): 13334.

MATTHEWS TA, CHEN L, CHEN Z, HAN X, SHI L, LI Y, WEN M, ZHANG D, LI H, SU D, LI J. Negative Employment Changes During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Psychological Distress: Evidence from a Nationally Representative Survey in the U.S. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2021, 63 (11): 931-937.

MATTHEWS TA, ROBBINS W, PREISIG M, VON KÄNEL R, LI J. Associations of Job Strain and Family Strain with Risk of Major Depressive Episode: A Prospective Cohort Study in U.S. Working Men and Women. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 2021, 147: 110541.

PEGA F, NÁFRÁDI B, MOMEN NC, UJITA Y, STREICHER KN, PRÜSS-ÜSTÜN AM; TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP, DESCATHA A, DRISCOLL T, FISCHER FM, GODDERIS L, KIIVER HM, LI J, MAGNUSSON HANSON LL, RUGULIES R, SØRENSEN K, WOODRUFF TJ. Global, Regional, and National Burdens of Ischemic Heart Disease and Stroke Attributable to Exposure to Long Working Hours for 194 Countries, 2000-2016: A Systematic Analysis from the WHO/ILO Joint Estimates of the Work-related Burden of Disease and Injury. Environment International, 2021, 154: 106595.

LI J, SIEGRIST J. Occupational Risks of Recurrent Coronary Heart Disease. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2021, 77 (13): 1626-1628.

LI J, ATASOY S, FANG X, ANGERER P, LADWIG KH. Combined Effect of Work Stress and Impaired Sleep on Coronary and Cardiovascular Mortality in Hypertensive Workers: The MONICA/KORA Cohort Study. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, 2021, 28 (2): 220-226.

DESCATHA A, SEMBAJWE G, PEGA F, UJITA Y, BAER M, BOCCUNI F, DI TECCO C, DURET C, EVANOFF BA, GAGLIARDI D, GODDERIS L, KANG SK, KIM BJ, MARINACCIO A, LI J, MAGNUSSON HANSON LL, OZGULER A, PACHITO DV, PELL J, PICO F, RONCHETTI M, RUGULIES R, ROQUELAURE Y, SCHOUTEDEN M,  SIEGRIST J, TSUTSUMI A, IAVICOLI S. The Effect of Exposure to Long Working Hours on Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis from the WHO/ILO Joint Estimates of the Work-Related Burden of Disease and Injury. Environment International, 2020, 142: 105746.

LI J, PEGA F, UJITA Y, BRISSON C, CLAYS E, DESCATHA A. FERRARIO MM, GODDERIS L, IAVICOLI S, LANDSBERGIS PA, METZENDORF KI, MORGAN RL, PACHITO CV, PIKHART H, RICHTER B, RONCAIOLI M, RUGULIES R, SCHNALL PL, SEMBAJWE G, TRUDEL X, TSUTSUMIA, WOODRUFF TJ, SIEGRIST J. The Effect of Exposure to Long Working Hours on Ischaemic Heart Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis from the WHO/ILO Joint Estimates of the Work-Related Burden of Disease and Injury. Environment International, 2020, 142: 105739.

FADEL M, LI J (equal contribution as the first author), SEMBAJWE G, GAGLIARDI D, PICO F, OZGULER A, EVANOFF BA, BAER M, TSUTSUMI A, IAVICOLI S, LECLERC A, ROQUELAURE Y, SIEGRIST J, DESCATHA A. Cumulative Exposure to Long Working Hours and Occurrence of Ischemic Heart Disease: Evidence from the CONSTANCES Cohort at Inception. Journal of the American Heart Association, 2020, 9 (12): e015753.

LI J, WEGE N, LOERBROKS A, RIEDEL N. Does Cognitive Function Predict Changes in Perception of Stressful Working Conditions? Industrial Health, 2020, 58 (1): 72-77.

SCHARF J, VU-EICKMANN P, LI J, MÜLLER A, WILM S, ANGERER P, LOERBROKS A. Desired Improvements of Working Conditions among Medical Assistants in Germany: A Cross-Sectional Study. Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology, 2019, 14: 18.

MUTAMBUDZI M, THEORELL T, LI J. Job Strain and Long-Term Sickness Absence from Work - A Ten-Year Prospective Study in German Working Population. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2019, 61 (4): 278-284.