Work stress associated with higher risk of stroke

According to a survey, Waitresses and nursing aides are at greater risk of stroke than janitors or teachers.

Previous studies have shown that high-strain jobs increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, regardless of social class. It is time for us to find a working environment that requires less work pressure and gives us some time off to spend with our loved ones to boost the well-being.

Researchers from Southern Medical University, Guangzhou analyzed published data in order to determine a significant connection between job pressure and stroke risk. They classified the subjects into four different groups based on their work as compared to control workers. The job demands included time pressure, mental load and coordination burdens.

The first category included passive job workers such as janitors, miners and other manual laborers. Second group labeled as low-stress jobs, for example scientists and architects. The waiters and nursing aides were placed in third category, high-stress jobs. The last group compromised of active jobs such as doctors, teachers and engineers.

The investigators examined six studies involving more than 135,000 participants who were followed for between 3 and 17 years. The research revealed that the individuals with high-stress jobs were found to have a 22 percent higher risk of any kind of stroke and a 58 percent greater likelihood of having an ischemic stroke than those with low-stress jobs.

In addition, people in passive and active jobs did not have any increased risk of stroke.

“Having a lot of job stress has been linked to heart disease, but studies on job stress and stroke have shown inconsistent results. It’s possible that high-stress jobs lead to more unhealthy behaviors such as poor eating habits, smoking and lack of exercise,” said Dr. Dingli Xu, one of the lead researchers.

The reason behind such a higher risk for the said group of workers is a not known. But the experts believe that it is most likely due to high BMI, impaired glucose metabolism, atherosclerotic plaques. IMAGE/Getty Images