Work Stress Raises Diabetes Risk

Previously, studies report that workplace stress can have a range of adverse health effects, especially raising the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Cornelia Huth, from Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen (Germany), and colleagues examined data prospectively collected from more than 5,300 employed individuals, ages 29 to 66 years, enrolled in the MONICA/ Cooperative Health Research in the Augsburg Region (KORA) study. At the beginning of the study, none of the participants had diabetes, while in the post-observation period, which covered an average of 13 years, almost 300 of them were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Observing that: “Men and women who experience high job strain are at higher risk for developing [type-2 diabetes] independently of traditional risk factors,” the study authors urge that: “Preventive strategies to combat the globally increasing [type-2 diabetes] epidemic should take into consideration the adverse effects of high strain in the work environment.”