Long Work Hours Linked to Greater Risk of Stroke

People who work long hours are at a higher risk of a stroke, especially if they’ve worked those hours for more than 10 years, according to new research.

The French study, which was published in the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke, looked at data on age, smoking, and working hours from a population study of more than 143,000 adults.

In the study, long work hours were defined as working more than 10 hours for at least 50 days per year.

The researchers found that participants working long hours had a 29 percent greater risk of stroke, and those working long hours for 10 years or more had a 45 percent greater risk of stroke.

Part-time workers and those who suffered strokes before working long hours were excluded from the study.

Researchers also found:

• overall, 1,224 of the participants suffered strokes;
• 29 percent (42,542) reported working long hours;
• 10 percent (14,481) reported working long hours for 10 years or more.

Study author Alexis Descatha said that surprisingly, the associated between 10 years of long work hours and stroke seemed stronger for people under the age of 50.

“This was unexpected. Further research is needed to explore this finding. As a clinician, I will advise my patients to work more efficiently and plan to follow my own advice.”

Other studies have previously linked long work hours and stroke risk among business owners, CEOs, farmers, professionals and managers. The researchers said this might be because those groups generally have greater decision latitude than other workers.

In addition, other studies have suggested that irregular shifts, night work, and job strain may be responsible for unhealthy work conditions (see related article).

Dr Richard Francis, head of research at the Stroke Association, told the BBC that there were “lots of simple things you can do to reduce the risk of a stroke”, even if you work long hours.

“Eating a healthy diet, finding the time to exercise, stopping smoking and getting the recommended amount of sleep can make a big difference to your health.”