New research from Indiana University Bloomington suggests women who work in highly male-dominated occupations are exposed to high levels of stress.

Previous studies have shown that women working in male-dominated occupations face particular challenges. They usually encounter social isolation, performance pressures, sexual harassment, obstacles to mobility, moments of both high visibility and invisibility, The Daily Mail reported. Their coworkers often tend to doubt their competence, and they receive low levels of workplace social support. Chronic exposure to these types of social stressors is known to cause vulnerability to disease and mortality through dysregulation of the human body's stress response.

"We find that such women are more likely to experience exposure to high levels of interpersonal, workplace stressors," researcher Bianca Manago said in a statement.

For the study, researchers measured whether women in occupations that were made up of 85 percent or more men, also known as "token" women, show such dysregulation by analyzing their daily cortisol patterns. Cortisol is a stress hormone that naturally fluctuates through the day, The Independent reported.

"We find that women in male-dominated occupations have less healthy, or 'dysregulated,' patterns of cortisol throughout the day," Manago said.

This study demonstrates that negative workplace climates can be expressed in these women's bodies and can, in fact, dysregulate their stress response, potentially for years after the exposure to the stressful workplace climate.

"Our findings are especially important because dysregulated cortisol profiles are associated with negative health outcomes," said researcher Cate Taylor who also worked on the study. "Thus, our project provides evidence that the negative workplace social climates encountered by women in male-dominated occupations may be linked to later negative health outcomes for these women."

The findings are detailed were presented at the 110th annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.