Job stress hikes risk of heart disease for women

[Elmore Furth]

Karoshi in Japan is where a man works himself to dealth for his job. Some estimates put the figure at up to 10000 deaths a year from karoshi in Japan.

Looks like the American female version of karoshi is developing.

Stress takes a toll on women's heart health. A study released Sunday found that women who report high stress on the job have a 40% increased risk of being diagnosed with heart disease.

Researchers at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston looked at survey data from 17,415 women who were part of the Women's Health Study. These women were primarily white health professionals in their 50s. They were followed for more than 10 years. Job stress was defined as having a demanding job but little or no decision-making authority or opportunities to use one's creative or individual skills.

The women in high-stress jobs who developed heart disease had heart attacks, strokes or needed coronary-artery bypass or balloon angioplasty. The increased risk of heart attack alone was 88%. The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Heart Assn.'s Scientific Sessions.


Job stress hikes risk of heart disease for women

(Health.com) -- Women with very demanding jobs are nearly twice as likely to have a heart attack as their peers in more easygoing occupations, a new study suggests.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School analyzed 10 years of survey and medical data on more than 17,000 women in the health profession. The women, who were enrolled in a long-running study on heart disease, were all in their 50s or early 60s when the study began.

The women who said their job requires them to work "very hard" or "very fast" but who have little say over their day-to-day tasks -- a combination known as "job strain" -- were 88 percent more likely than those in less-stressful jobs to have a heart attack.

They were also 43 percent more likely to need heart surgery, according to the study, which was presented Sunday at an annual meeting of the American Heart Association in Chicago.




edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/14/health.job.strain.heart.risk/

[Skittles]

1. studies like this are so stupid

I mean, HELLO - gee, a stressful, demanding job with little authority takes a toll on your heart health? OMG WHO WOULD HAVE THUNK IT