yang 2006 press release

DALLAS , Aug. 29 – Americans who work long hours each week may be increasing their risk for high blood pressure, researchers report in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

A survey of California workers found that the more hours they worked, the greater their risk of developing high blood pressure.

“Research during the past two decades has provided solid evidence that psychosocial factors at work, such as work stress, can cause high blood pressure,” said Dean Baker, M.D., M.P.H., senior author of the study. “It has been suggested that there is an association between long work hours and the risk of hypertension in studies of Japanese workers. However, this association had not yet been examined in American workers.”

Baker with lead investigator Haiou Yang, Ph.D., and colleagues analyzed data from a 2001 survey of more than 55,000 households in California, asking people about work hours, whether they had hypertension and about other health, demographic and lifestyle factors that could affect their blood pressure. The survey identified 24,205 working people ages 18 to 64.

“We observed expected patterns for hypertension among demographic and biological risk factors,” said Baker, professor and director of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of California in Irvine . “For example, age, male gender, lifetime cigarette use, self-reported diabetes and a sedentary lifestyle were all positively associated with self-reported hypertension, while household income was negatively associated with hypertension.”

Furthermore, clerical workers were 23 percent and unskilled workers 50 percent more likely to have self-reported hypertension than professionals.

Still, after researchers eliminated other possible reasons for hypertension, they found that the number of hours people worked each week was independently and significantly associated with self-reported hypertension:

· Compared to people who worked 11 to 19 hours per week, the risk of self-reported hypertension was 14 percent higher among those who worked 40 hours per week and 17 percent higher for those who worked 41 to 50 hours per week.

· Compared to people who worked 11 to 39 hours per week, people who worked 51 hours or more each week were 1.29 times more likely to report hypertension.

“We identified hours worked as being a possible risk factor for hypertension, which is a highly relevant finding in society today when you consider that American workers now work longer hours than workers in any other industrial country in the world, including Japan ,” Baker said. “We’re essentially becoming a nation of workaholics.”

Doctors should be more aware that the type of work people do and the average number of hours they work are potentially important risk factors for hypertension, Baker said. He suggested doctors ask their patients about their work and work hours and be prepared to provide counseling about the associations between work and blood pressure, just as they now counsel patients about diet and exercise.

Baker also said employers should consider the possible adverse effects on their workforces of requiring long work weeks, including possibly increased medical care costs and absenteeism.

The lead investigator for the study is Haiou Yang, Ph.D. Other co-authors are Peter Schnall, M.D., M.P.H.; Maritza Jauregui, Ph.D.; and Ta-chen Su, M.D., Ph.D.

The study was funded by the U.C. Irvine Center for Occupational and Environmental Health and the National Institute for Occupational Health through the Southern California Education and Research Center .

Statements and conclusions of study authors that are published in the American Heart Association scientific journals are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect association policy or position. The American Heart Association makes no representation or warranty as to their accuracy or reliability.