Job Stress and Heart Disease
Friday, April 11, 2008

Stress at work may be bad for your heart according to a British study. In today’s 60 Second Housecall, Dr. Ken Davis discusses job stress and its possible link to heart disease.

A 12-year study of more than 10,000 British white collar workers found that workers were 68 percent more likely to have heart disease if they had long-term job stress.

The study, published in the European Heart Journal, discovered that stressed workers tended to have unhealthy diets and be less physically active which can also contribute to heart conditions. Even after controlling for diet and exercise, job stress remained a significant risk for heart disease.

The study participants, predominantly men ages 35 to 55 got checkups and reported their drinking, smoking, diet and physical activity. They also rated their job stress twice during the study.

Stressful jobs had lots of pressure and little control. Some also included social stress from bad bosses and unsupportive co-workers.

Exercise, diet, meditation, and stress management techniques can be helpful in dealing with job stress.  Of course, changing jobs may be the best solution.

For North Mississippi Medical Center, I’m Dr. Ken Davis.