Job Stress May Raise Cardiovascular Risk

Women who endure stress at work appear to have a greater cardiovascular risk than those with lower-stress jobs, with both active jobs and those with a high level of strain associated with a 38% greater relative risk of having a cardiovascular event through 10 years of follow-up.  Michelle Albert, from Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Massachusetts, USA), and colleagues examined data collected on 22,086 women, mean age 57 years, enrolled in the Women’s Health Study. Information on job-related stressors was collected in the fifth year of the study.  The women were divided into four groups depending on their level of reported job strain, which considers both demands and control in the workplace. Through 10 years of follow-up in the, there were 170 myocardial infarctions, 163 ischemic strokes, 440 coronary revascularizations, and 52 deaths due to cardiovascular disease.  After adjustment for age, race, treatment arm, education, and income, cardiovascular events were more likely among women with high job strain (rate ratio 1.38) and with active jobs (RR 1.38) compared with those with low-strain jobs. Writing that: “High strain and active jobs, but not job insecurity, were related to increased [cardiovascular disease] risk among women,” the study authors urge that: “With the increase of women in the workforce, these data emphasize the importance of addressing job strain in [cardiovascular disease] prevention efforts among working women.”