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How Long Working Hours Can Raise Hypertension?

SOURCE 1: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/50730.php
If you work more than 51 hours each week you should be aware that your
chances of developing hypertension are 29% higher, when compared to
someone who works up to 39 hours a week, according to scientists from the
University of California in Irvine, USA.
(Hypertension = High blood pressure)
You can read about this study in the journal Hypertension.
Americans work more hours per week than the Japanese do. In Japan they have a
term, Karoshi, which means dying suddenly as a result of working too much.
In this study, researchers studied data on 24,305 Californian citizens who worked
more than 11 hours per week. They used data from the Public Use File of the
2001 California Health Interview Survey. After making adjustments for
socioeconomic status and body weight, the study found there was a strong link
between hypertension prevalence and more hours worked - the more hours a
person worked each week, the higher his/her hypertension risk was.
When compared to people who work up to 39 hours per week, a person working
40 hours had a 14% increased risk of suffering from hypertension. The risk
increased in parallel with extra hours worked, reaching 29% for a 51-hour-week.
They also found that challenging and mentally stimulating jobs tended to protect
people from developing hypertension. Those with highest risks of suffering from
high blood pressure as a result o doing many hours were clerical and unskilled
workers.
The USA is the only developed country which does not have legal restrictions on
the number of hours a person can work each week.
Work Hours and Self-Reported Hypertension Among Working People in
California
Haiou Yang; Peter L. Schnall; Maritza Jauregui; Ta-Chen Su; and Dean Baker
Hypertension 2006, doi:10.1161/01.HYP.0000238327.41911.52
Click Here To View Abstract Online
Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

SOURCE 2: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-402763/Long-working-hourslinked-high-blood-pressure.html

Long working hours linked to high blood pressure


Last updated at 18:19 29 August 2006

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Workers who clocked more than 51 hours at the office each week were 29 per cent more
likely to have high blood pressure than those who worked 39 hours or less, a new study from
California has found.
Nearly all past research linking long work hours and high blood pressure has been done
among Asian workers, Dr. Haiou Yang of the University of California in Irvine and
colleagues note in their report in the journal Hypertension.
Interest in the topic began in Japan, they add, where a notoriously high-pressure work culture
has given rise to a phenomenon known as Karoshi, or "sudden death from overwork." Today,
Americans work longer hours than do Japanese, the researchers add.
To investigate whether more time on the job could drive up hypertension risk among
Westerners, the researchers looked at a representative sample of 24,305 California adults who
worked 11 hours or more each week.
The likelihood of having high blood pressure rose steadily with the number of hours worked,
the researchers found, and persisted even after adjusting for factors such as socioeconomic
status and body weight.
Those who worked 40 hours per week were 14 percent more likely to have high blood
pressure than people who worked 39 hours or less. Hypertension risk was 17 per cent greater
in those working 41 to 50 hours weekly, and 29 percent higher in those working 51 hours or
more.
The researchers also found that hypertension was more common among clerical and unskilled
workers than among professionals. This "suggests that occupations requiring more
challenging and mentally active work may have a protective effect against hypertension,"
Yang and his colleagues write.
Almost all of the developed world has legislation limiting work hours, except for the United
States, the researchers note.

SOURCE 3: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1731895/
Abstract
STUDY OBJECTIVETo evaluate the association of long working hours with the risk for
hypertension.
DESIGNA five year prospective cohort study.
SETTINGWork site in Osaka, Japan.
PARTICIPANTS941 hypertension free Japanese male white collar workers aged 35-54
years were prospectively examined by serial annual health examinations. Men in whom
borderline hypertension and hypertension were found during repeated surveys were defined
as incidental cases of borderline hypertension and hypertension.
MAIN RESULTS336 and 88 men developed hypertension above the borderline level and
definite hypertension during the 3940 and 4531 person years, respectively. After controlling
for potential predictors of hypertension, the relative risk for hypertension above the
borderline level, compared with those who worked < 8.0 hours per day, was 0.63 (95%
confidence intervals (CI): 0.43, 0.91) for those who worked 10.0-10.9 hours per day and
0.48 (95% CI: 0.31, 0.74) for those who worked
11.0 hours per day. The relative risk
for definite hypertension, compared with those who worked < 8.0 hours per day, was
0.33 (95% CI: 0.11, 0.95) for those who worked
11.0 hours per day. The
multivariate adjusted slopes of diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and mean arterial blood
pressure (MABP) during five years of follow up decreased as working hours per day
increased. From the multiple regression analyses, working hours per day remained as an
independent negative factor for the slopes of systolic blood pressure, DBP, and MABP.
CONCLUSIONSThese results indicate that long working hours are negatively associated
with the risk for hypertension in Japanese male white collar workers.
How competion with collegues rise hypertension?
SOURCE 1: http://www.stress.org/interview-Stress_Metabolic.htm

AN INTERVIEW WITH BJRN FOLKOW, M.D., PH.D.____________


P J R: Many physicians tend to view essential hypertension primarily as a plumbing problem
due to increased cardiac output or increased peripheral resistance or some combination of
both. What causes these derangements is not clear but hypertension is often linked with
insulin resistance, and other manifestations of metabolic syndrome. You and Per Bjrntorp
have proposed that both essential hypertension and metabolic syndrome share a similar
central origin as suggested by animal studies. However, I suspect that proving this in humans
would require very long-term studies. What is the evidence to support this hypothesis?
B F : Primary (essential) hypertension (PH) and the metabolic syndrome (MS) have much in
common because their multifactorial backgrounds include several shared elements. In both

conditions, a polygenetic predisposition interacts with environmental factors that overlap.


Increased insulin resistance, which is considered to be the hallmark of MS, is common in PH,
and conversely, an elevated blood pressure is frequently found in MS. A third important
component in chronic hypertension is the gradual "upward structural setting" or remodeling
of blood vessels and the heart that reinforces interactions between hereditary and
environmental influences. This same phenomenon is also seen in metabolic syndrome.(1)
Genes alone are hardly sufficient to produce the clinical picture of either PH or MS since
these disorders are almost absent in hunter-gatherer or small agricultural groups that have
retained their traditional lifestyles for centuries. It is only when such rural enclaves are forced
to follow the hectic and competitive lifestyles of modern society that rely on technologies
rather than physical exercise that these leading "Diseases of Civilization" start to surface. For
example, a recent survey in Spain (2) showed that 45% of people aged 34 to 64 were
hypertensive. Actually, genetic constellations predisposing to PH may even encompass most
people in populations, as other studies show their presence in siblings who were still
normotensive.(3) Bjrntorp and coworkers found that over a third of 51-year-old men in our
home town of Gteborg had all the cardinal characteristics of metabolic syndrome.(1,3,4)
Moreover, in this third of MS affected men, the incidence of mood disturbances such as
frustration, anxiety and depression was surprisingly high.(1) The advent of the genome
project has accelerated the current trend to search for a specific "one and only" genetic cause
for human disease. However, the above and other studies tend to confirm a polygenetic basis
for both PH and MS. From a biological perspective, a rise in blood pressure and blood sugar,
enhanced alertness and other "fight or flight" responses to physical threats would have had
survival value for our primitive ancestors. Unfortunately, they are now inappropriate for the
mental and emotional stresses that modern man may encounter several times daily rather than
once or twice a month. Repeatedly invoked, it is not hard to understand how they could
contribute to hypertension, metabolic syndrome, peptic ulcers and other diseases depending
on the interaction between genetic and environmental factors.
SOURCE 2: http://www.outofstress.com/tips/work-stress-causes.php
Top 12 Causes of Work Related Stress
A survey conducted by American Psychological Association cited that 62%
Americans are suffering from work related stress. This survey was taken in 2004.
There is evidence that stress in general is rising exponentially in our society.
Work stress has been rated as the most prevalent among the population, the
second in the list is family related stress.
What is work stress? Quite simply it is any abnormal or continued stress which is
felt on day to day basis in a professional or work centric environment. It is quite
normal to feel slightly stressed while working, usually because we are trying to
focus and concentrate, but if the levels of stress exceed the norm, or if there is a
continuity of stress without relief, to the extent of causing mental disturbance
then you are suffering from abnormal stress in the workplace.

What are the causes of work stress?

A list of the most common causes of work stress


in todays professional environment is cited
below
1. Role of technology on work related
stress Our work style has become completely
sedentary due to the influx of technology in our
lives. Human beings are quite naturally adapted to leading a physically active
lifestyle and our current habits are contrary to our physical needs. Muscle pain,
back aches, neck pains, eye strain and other joint pains are a direct result of a
computer oriented work culture. Weve become like machines tapping away on a
keyboard.
2. Stress due to noise in open office Silence and peace go hand in hand.
The continuous buzz of activity and noise around the office is a source of
tremendous stress for most employees. Their nerves are always on the edge due
to all the nervous tension around them. An open office will infer that there is no
privacy either with leads to more stress.
3. Stuck in a job without interest Most employees are dissatisfied with their
jobs, usually because it does not allow them to express their inherent potential or
creativity. We humans are creative beings and there is a deep seated need to
give expression to our creativity in some form or the other. A mundane or dull job
usually does not meet this criteria, leaving us with acute job stress.
4. Abnormal job timings - Due to increased lay offs and reduced job openings,
employees find themselves compromising with their personal life to suit their job
requirements. Night shifts and overtime are becoming normal these days
because there seems to be an urgent need to stay continuously productive. In
the long run, these odd work timings tend to eat into our personal life to an
extent of almost alienating us from our family causing a lot of work place stress.
5. Friction with colleagues With increased competition comes increased
friction; every employee is trying to get ahead of the other. It is difficult to find
harmonious friends in such an environment. Humans have an inherent need to
bond and work in social groups, but the present scenario does not allow for it.
This factor is quite significant causing stress in workplace.
6. Incompatible managers Most workers are stressed out because of their
managers. If your superior is not appreciative of your efforts and has little
understanding of your working methods then it can cause of lot of unnecessary
job stress. Some managers are known to be of the paranoid sort who
continuously pressurize their staff asking for frequent updates and setting nonattainable deadlines.

7. Too much work load Not everyone is gifted at time management and even
those who are really skilled at organizing find themselves overloaded most of the
times these days. It always one deadline after the other with no time for a
breather. The work just piles on daily leaving little room for planning, so most of
the work gets done in a stressful manner.
8. Job insecurity Outsourcing and cut backs go hand in hand. This may be a
good thing as far as globalization is concerned but employees find it very
stressful. Living on the edge with no job security can play havoc on the nerves.
Layoffs are stressful for the concerned employees as well as their colleagues who
feel they are next in the line.
9. Poor work compensation Close to 73% Americans have cited money as
the most stressful factor in their lives. Since your work is the only source income
any insecurity at the financial level will directly increase your work stress.
Several employee work in resentment because they believe their pay package is
too low for their position. Such thoughts and feelings leads to increased job
stress.
10. Hostile job environment If your office feels like a battleground where
your basic needs of personal security are threatened, it is quite difficult to keep
sane. Work place harassment is on the rise, women are the usual targets but it is
quite true for a lot of men also. If it is usual for your superior to throw temper
tantrums at every meeting, then the very thought of the next meeting would
cause your stress levels to increase dramatically.
11. Discrimination at workplace There may be cases of racial or cultural
discrimination in any office, some of it is direct while most of it stays indirect.
Any employee who feels victimized by discrimination is bound to feel stressed at
workplace, not only because of the alienation but because of the stigma itself.
12. Job related travel Even though some people might like traveling, there is
nothing more strenuous than a packed schedule of continuous travel. One can
never be at peace when half the day involves traveling to and fro between client
locations. Work related traveling as source of stress is quite prevalent in most
marketing jobs.

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