News and Advances
Long office hours not good for you : linked to stroke
Abstract
It is interesting to see some science supporting the risks of very long working hours;in this case a risk of stroke.
Working over 55 hours a week increases your risk of stroke and coronary heart disease a new study published in The Lancet suggests.
The study looked at the working hours of people previously free from coronary heart disease and stroke and calculated that cumulative long working hours (classified as >55 hours a week) was associated with a 1.33 increased risk of stroke and a 1.13 increased risk of coronary heart disease.
The study also found that the risk of stroke increases further as the number of working hours does.
The study (also known as a systematic review) included data from over 25 studies around Europe, USA and Australia. It used the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool to assess the quality of the included studies and the results were adjusted to eliminate potential biases of age, sex and socioeconomic status, as well as the potential for reverse causation and confounding.
Stress and physical inactivity are thought to be two contributing factors to this increased risk of disease. The results of the study suggest that long working hours should be considered a risk factor for stroke in particular, and taken into account when assessing management decisions for cardiovascular disease prevention.
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