Myocardial infarction due to work stress

Stress at work increases heart attack risk

03.10.2012

Workers whose work is psychologically stressful and does not have much room for maneuver have a significantly higher heart attack risk than people who are not exposed to this work stress.

This is the conclusion of a research group that published these findings in the Lancet. The scientists studied work stress among nearly 200,000 workers who had participated in 13 individual studies between 1985 and 2006 in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

The participants completed questionnaires on their working conditions, e.g. on mental demands, time pressure and freedom of choice. During the follow-up, which lasted for an average of 7.5 years, a total of 2,358 people had a heart attack for the first time.

The risk of having a heart attack was 23% higher in those reporting work stress. It remained elevated even when other factors such as lifestyle, age, gender or social status were taken into account. In addition to the work stress, the lifestyle (smoking, physical inactivity, etc.) had the greatest overall impact on the risk of a later infarction. Original publication: Mika Kivimäki et al. Job strain as a risk factor for coronary heart disease: a collaborative meta-analysis of individual participant data“. The Lancet, doi: 10.1016 / S0140-6736 (12) 60994-5; 2012.

Image: Gerd Altmann, Pixelio.de