Maure Outlook, June, 1995 (Maureen Callahan)
Health experts continue to debate the influence stress (whether in stressful jobs or lifestyles) has on heart disease.
Studies involving men suggest that job strain is a risk factor for the development of coronary heart disease. In a study on men age 30-60, researchers at New York Hospital - Cornell Medical College found that those with high-strain jobs (high demand, low control) are more likely to have elevated blood pressures and enlarged hearts - conditions that don't necessarily resolve after the job ends. "The remarkable thing about job strain is that it raises your blood pressure at work, at home, even during sleep," says Peter L. Schnall, M.D., assistant professor at Cornell and one of the authors of the study.
But the effects of stress on the job may not be the same for women. In a study on women aged 40-59, scientists discovered that employed women in managerial positions were healthier than their unemployed counterparts.
"It's remarkably consistent," explains Donna Kritz-Silverstein, Ph.D., epidemiologist at the University of California at San Diego. "The employed women in our study had healthier values in every category". They had significantly lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure and lower fasting plasma glucose levels. They smoked fewer cigarettes, drank less alcohol and and exercised more. "Working may not be as hazardous to women as it is to men," Kritz-Silverstein concludes.