Working Longer Hours Increases CHD Risk

Working long hours may be linked to an increased risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD), or narrowing of the blood vessels that supply the heart with blood and oxygen, according to a recent study.

In the past, working more than 40 hours per week has been associated with stress and other health-compromising conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and poor sleep.
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For the study, researchers examined 8350 participants (age 19 and older) from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey IV from 2007 to 2009.

Researchers used the Framingham risk model to score collected information and calculate the risk of cardiovascular disease manifestation during a certain time-period.

Participants were asked questions about general health and life-style factors (diet, smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise habits) and completed a physical examination: cholesterol levels, blood-pressure measurements, triglyceride levels, high-density lipoprotein levels, and fasting plasma glucose levels.

“The longer hours employees worked, the higher their chances of developing coronary heart disease within 10 years, with those working 61 to 70 hours having a 42% increased likelihood of developing the disease, those working 71 to 80 hours having a 63% increased likelihood, and those working more than 80 hours having a 94% increased likelihood,” said Dr. Yun-Chul Hong, MD, senior author of the study and researcher at the Medical Research Center and College of Medicine at Seoul National University in South Korea.

The complete study is published in the September issue of the American Journal of Industrial Medicine.

-Michelle Canales

References:

Kang M-Y, Cho S-H, Yoo M-S, et al. Long working hours may increase risk of coronary heart disease. Am J Ind Med. 2014 August [epub ahead of print] doi: 10.1002/ajim.22367.

Wiley. Working long hours may increase risk of coronary heart disease. September 15, 2014. www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/PressRelease/pressReleaseId-112164.html. Accessed September 17, 2014.