Work Stress in 40s May Lead to Hospitalization in 70s

A number of previous studies have suggested that long-term job-related physical and mental strain may adversely affect a person’s ability to function independently as they age.  Mikaela Birgitta von Bonsdorff, from the University of Jyvaskyla (Finland), and colleagues studied data collected on 5,625 Finnish public sector employees, ages 44 to 58 years, who worked in blue- and white-collar professions in 1981.  During a 20-year follow-up period, the team tracked the number of in-patient hospital care days among the subjects, via the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register.  The researchers found that higher job-related strain in one’s 40s and 50s tended to increase the number of days that person spent in the hospital, especially for physical strain.  For every 1,000 men with high physical job strain, almost 13 days were spent in inpatient hospital care every year, as compared to roughly 8 days for men with low physical job strain.  Further, the team observed that among men will only, hospital days increased as mental strain increased.  The study authors submit that: “exposure to high mental and, particularly, high physical job strain in midlife may set employees on a higher healthcare use trajectory which persists into old age.”