Long hours at work increase risk of heart disease
Working long hours in the office can increase the risk of heart disease, a new study has found, Kazakhstan Today reports.
Almaty. April 5. Kazakhstan Today - Working long hours in the office can increase the risk of heart disease, a new study has found, Kazakhstan Today reports.
Scientists have discovered that it just might - because working too many hours could bring on a heart attack, the Daily Mail reported.
Public health experts at University College London have found that working an 11-hour day increases the risk of having a heart attack by two-thirds, compared to working between seven and eight hours.
The "remarkable" increase is similar to the added risk of heart disease brought on by regularly sleeping less than six hours a night.
The study, which followed the health of more than 7,000 Whitehall civil servants for 11 years, did not examine why a long working day appears to increase the risk.
However, stress is thought to play a role. Previous research has found that people with higher levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, are more likely to suffer from heart problems.
Over the course of the study period, 192 of the volunteers suffered a heart attack. Those who worked 11 hours or more a day were 67 per cent more likely to have a heart attack than those who worked a "standard" day of between seven and eight hours.
Professor Mika Kivimaki, the epidemiologist who led the study, said: "We have shown that working long days is associated with a remarkable increase in risk of heart disease."
The study, published on Monday in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, suggests that doctors should take into account patients' working hours when assessing their risk of developing heart disease, he said.
Doctors normally take into account risk factors including a person's body mass index (BMI), age, blood pressure, blood cholesterol and whether they have diabetes when assessing heart disease risk.
The study figures suggested that adding long working hours to that equation could improve assessment accuracy by around five per cent, picking up an extra 6,000 people who might suffer a heart attack every year.
Prof Kivimaki said: "Considering that including a measurement of working hours in a GP interview is so simple and useful, our research presents a strong case that it should become standard practice. This new information should help improve decisions regarding medication for heart disease."
He added: "It could also be a wake-up call for people who overwork themselves, especially if they already have other risk factors."
Photo: BBC News
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