Longer Work Hours Tied To Increased Risk For Stroke

The Los Angeles Times (8/20, Kaplan) reports in “Science Now” that people “who put in long hours at the office were 33% more likely to suffer a stroke than their colleagues who clocked out earlier,” according to study findings published online yesterday in The Lancet. The study also found that even people “who worked just over 40 hours per week saw a significant increase in stroke risk.”

        The New York Times (8/20, Saint Louis) “Well” blog points out that the “new analysis includes data on more than 600,000 individuals in Europe, the United States and Australia, and is the largest study thus far of the relationship between working hours and cardiovascular health.” Included in the analysis were 17 “studies of stroke” that “included 528,908 men and women who were tracked on average 7.2 years,” as well as 25 studies of “coronary heart disease among workers” that involved some “603,838 people.”

        TIME (8/20, Basu) reports that the study authors are not sure why longer work hours appear to be linked to an increased risk for stroke, but posited that “working long hours tends to be correlated with risky health behaviors, like drinking more alcohol or sitting for hours at a time.” Such behaviors, in combination “with the stress associated with working overtime, could be a perfect recipe for a stroke or cardiovascular strain.” The Telegraph (UK) (8/20, Knapton) also covers the study.