05/11/2010

Working Overtime May Put Your Heart at Risk

Researchers have reported in the European Heart Journal that people who work for long hours, which was defined as 10 hours or more per day, are more likely to have heart related problems than those who do not. In fact, at the end of the study, those who worked 10 hours or more a day were 60% more likely to have heart problems. People working 8-9 hours a day did not show a significant increase in heart health.

The research included 6,000 civil servants in the U.K. and ran for 11 years. Heart problems were defined as death due to heart disease, non-fatal heart attacks and angina. Researchers adjusted for other risk factors that can result in heart problems, such as: smoking, obesity, high cholesterol, sex, age, etc.

After all the numbers were tallied it was concluded that working 3-4 hours of overtime, daily, was associated with a higher risk for cardiovascular disease; whereas working 1-2 hours of overtime did not have an effect on overall heart health.

Scientists are postulating several explanations related to the new find. Some possible explanations are: voluntary overtime workers may be more likely to be a type-A personality; psychological distress comes with stressful jobs that may cause lack of sleep, anxiety and depression; high blood pressure that is work-related can be varying and therefore possibly not detected at exams; employees who work overtime may work more when they are ill; and the chronic stress of long work hours could adversely affect the metabolic process.

Per Gordon McInnes, a professor of clinical pharmacology at the University of Glascow, U.K., stated, “physicians should be aware of the risks of overtime [work] and take seriously symptoms such as chest pain, monitor and treat recognized cardiovascular risk factors, particularly blood pressure, and advise an appropriate lifestyle modification."