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MyHealthNewsDaily
Mental stress at work may increase the risk of stroke, a new study says.
The results show that among men in middle and high social classes, those who experienced psychological stress at work were about 1.4 times more likely to have a stroke than others who did not.
All in all, that means about 10 percent of strokes in this group can be attributed to work stress, the researchers said. The rest of the strokes were related to other risk factors, such as smoking, high blood pressure and diabetes.
The findings are based on information from nearly 5,000 men ages 40 to 59 living in Copenhagen, whom researchers surveyed in 1970 to 1971 and followed for 30 years (until 2001). The men were given a physical exam and answered questions about their alcohol consumption, smoking habits and if they received treatment for diabetes. Men were not included in the study if they had a history of heart disease or a heart attack.
Researchers asked, "Are you under psychological pressure when performing your work?" and the men responded with “rarely" or "regularly."
During the study period, 779 men suffered a stroke, and 167 died from one.
The participants were divided into five groups based on social class, which took into account education level and job position.
No link was found between psychological stress at work and men in the two lowest classes.
Among men in the three highest classes, the risk of stroke increased 38 percent among those who reported experiencing stress at work regularly, compared with those who reported it rarely, the researchers said. The risk was most significant for younger men, likely because these men were exposed to work stress for a longer period. (Men who were among the oldest at the start would have retired shortly after the study began.)
It's not clear why the link was found only for men in higher social classes, according to the study. It may be that high-status jobs come with increased mental stress. Fewer men in the lower classes reported regular psychological work stress, the researchers said.
The study was published in the December issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
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Leave a Comment:
I believe this to be true remember some government budgeting reports i used to have to do along with multi tasks.
I believe this is true that the pressures at work could cause a stroke. But another thing I need to mention is like this article, I'm tired of hearing about studies that are only done on men. This discrimination against women has got to stop!
You're right and there is no excuse for not doing studies on women (although figuring out that a toxic work environment can cause high blood pressure which can in turn lead to a stroke (or heart attack) for a man or a woman is not astrophysics and I hope no one took too long thinking about that study.)
Initially, doing clinical studies on only men wasn't about disregard for women. The reasoning for recruiting all male volunteers in years past was that with women going through menses and being premenstrual can, for some women, cause just about any medical symptom that one can think of, including elevated blood pressure.Indeed the neurological symptoms that a lot of women experience right before their periods-irritability, decreased coordination causing them to be accident prone, memory loss, insomnia, migraines,ect. are a result of slightly elevated intracranial pressure, which can also raise blood pressure the same way that chronic abuse in the workplace can.
When a man is exposed to a toxic workplace and he starts developing medical symptoms that he didn't have before it isn't as hard to figure out whether the medical changes you see with the guy are from the toxic workplace or from hormonal changes doing a number on the rest of his body.
I would think that with the crackdown on workplace relationships and stricter sexual harassment laws it would be less likely to have a stroke at work. Oh, wait. Never mind.
Red Wolf,
This was a long term study that started back when there fewer woman in positions of authority in the office workplace. I say in positions of authority due to the fact the study mentions higher social class. That would seem to imply managerial positions. Perhaps a similar study is taking place for women in positions of authority but it will take time to conclude the study.
Believe me I want my wife to stay healthy. We celebrate our 26th anniversary next month and I want to grow old with the love of my life.