A Science-Backed Reason For Leaving Work Early Today

Burning the midnight oil? You could put yourself at risk for a stroke. Workers who put in 55 hours per week or more had a 33 percent greater risk of stroke and a 13 percent greater risk of heart disease than people who worked 35 to 40 hours per week, according to study just published in the medical journal The Lancet.  Interestingly, the study didn't find a difference in stroke risk between men and women, between older workers and younger workers, or between workers of different socioeconomic statuses. Instead, the more an individual worked, the greater his or her risk of stroke.  "It was surprising," Mika Kivimaki, lead author on the study and a professor of epidemiology at University College London, told The Huffington Post. "Previously, we found that long working hours was associated with diabetes, but only among those with low socioeconomic status. In contrast, the association with stroke was seen in all groups." Kivimaki's meta-analysis examining heart disease was comprised of 25 studies and data from more than 600,000 people across Europe, the United States and Australia. The stroke meta-analysis included 17 studies of more than 500,000 people.  Both genetics and lifestyle choices can impact a person's risk for stroke. Being overweight, smoking, having diabetes and having high blood pressure are all risk factors, according to the Mayo Clinic. “You have higher blood pressure when you have job strain,” Dr. Stephen Kopecky, a professor ...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news