More overtime equals more heart risk

[brothermagrew]

The more overtime you work, the greater your risk of heart disease, a study of UK workers has found. The study of 6,014 British civil servants, published online this week in the European Heart Journal and part-funded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), followed the workers for an average of 11 years. Overall, there were 369 cases where people suffered heart disease that caused death, had a heart attack or developed angina. After accounting for known heart risk factors such as smoking, doctors found those who worked 10 or 11 hours a day ran a 60 per cent higher risk of coronary heart disease. The heart disease risk increased with the amount of overtime worked. Out of the people who worked an hour of overtime or less each day, roughly 5.7 per cent went on to have a heart attack or develop angina. For people who did two hours' overtime on a typical day, the risk was 6.7 per cent. Among people who routinely put in three to four hours of overtime, 8.3 per cent got heart problems during the study. The researchers said there could be a number of explanations for this. People who spend more time at work have less time to exercise, relax and unwind, they suggested. They may also be more stressed, anxious, or have depression. 'Employees who work overtime may also be likely to work while ill - that is, be reluctant to be absent from work despite illness,' the authors added, also noting that having 'decision latitude' in the workplace seemed to lessen the link between overtime and angina rates seen in the study.

Source: TUC Risks 456

[Judgee]

Better not have a heart attack while working for Rm.... you get a stage warning for it ya know