mmalabanan
You think that extra hour of work will benefit you?
While it will certainly add extra cash to your paycheck, working overtime may do more harm than good when it comes to your health.
Experts from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston have recently found that an hour of overtime work a week actually raises an individual’s risk for long-term cardiovascular diseases. The findings of the study also showed that this risk increases per additional hour worked per week.
The team of scientists analyzed data taken from more than 1,900 participants who underwent a long-term follow-up study of health and work. Each of the participants had been working for at least a decade. The scientists then evaluated the link between work hours as well as cardiovascular disease among these participants.
Cardiovascular events such as high blood pressure or stroke, heart attack, coronary heart disease or heart failure and angina occurred in 43% of the participants. The risk for these diseases raised by 1% for each additional hour worked per week over at least ten years for full-time workers.
But for part-time workers who averaged more than 30 hours each week, the risk increased as the weekly hours neared 40. Interestingly, between 40 and 45 hours per week, the risk decreased.
Their findings also revealed that increasing work hours to around 46 hours per week progressively raised risk of cardiovascular disease.
Study author Dr. Sadie Conway explained:“This study provides specific evidence on long work hours and an increase in the risk of CVD, thereby providing a foundation for CVD-prevention efforts focused on work schedule practices, which may reduce the risk of CVD for millions of working Americans.”
