Work stress doubles risk of dying from heart disease

The article was professionally consulted with Senior Doctor, Specialist II Doan Du Dat - General Internal Medicine - Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Ha Long International Hospital.

It is well known that stress can cause heart attacks in people who already have heart disease. New research from Finland shows that stress at work doubles the risk of dying from heart disease. Thus, prolonged stress is also considered a risk factor for death from heart disease in anyone.

The study followed more than 800 workers (both men and women) at a metalworking plant in Finland for 25 years to understand the relationship between work and stress. None of the participants had heart disease at the start of the study, but by the end of the study 73 had died of heart disease.
After accounting for obvious risk factors such as age, smoking, high blood pressure, being overweight and a sedentary lifestyle, the researchers found that employees who were stressed at work had The risk of dying from heart disease is more than twice that of people who don't feel stressed at work. Workers who feel their job demands are too high, are uncertain and unstable, with few opportunities for advancement, and feel their work is unproductive are also twice as likely to die from heart disease.
The researchers also found that people who reported feeling chronically stressed at work had the same risk of dying from heart disease as those who smoked and didn't exercise. Work stress is also linked to being overweight and having high cholesterol.
According to the study leader, it is not clear whether the increased risk of death from heart disease is due to physiological changes in the body that appear in response to chronic stress or because stress is a contributing factor to health. worse overall.
In addition, the World Health Organization and International Labor reports that overwork resulted in 745,000 deaths from stroke and heart disease in 2016 (an increase of 29% since 2000). The WHO study found that working more than 55 hours/week was associated with an approximately 35% increased risk of stroke and a 17% higher risk of ischemic death compared with a 35-40 hour working regimen. / the week. The organization also points out that this bad effect is particularly striking for men, as up to 72 percent of overwork-related deaths occur in men.

While managing chronic stress is beneficial for overall health, the American Heart Association (AHA) says there's little direct evidence that reducing stress is effective in preventing or treating stress. treat heart disease.
The doubling of heart disease deaths reported in the above study was still less than the increase in heart disease risk associated with 3 main factors: Smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. The study found that people with all three of these risk factors were 16 times more likely to die from heart disease than those without.
Preventive medicine experts say it's very possible that stress at work contributes to heart disease, but without the three main risk factors above, the impact is not really big. People should therefore not only seek to deal with stress at work, but ignore other more important risk factors.

A certain number of hours worked (less/more than 8 hours/day, 5 days/week) can't always be used to indicate if you're overworked. Instead, the signs that work is making you tired and affecting your health that you should pay attention to are:
Psychological: Feeling confused, difficult to solve problems, making careless mistakes , short temper or lower tolerance for problems at work. Physical: Feeling tired, headache, nervous or unable to relax, nausea or stomachache. Emotional: Worrying, fearful, afraid of going to work or feeling helpless. Interpersonal: Avoid co-workers even if there is no conflict, more conflicts with people at work or relatives at home, "little things tear up". Behavior: Often says that he is sick, makes a lot of mistakes, sleeps less, drinks alcohol or uses drugs more.

Even knowing they are overworked and under prolonged stress, many people still cannot leave their jobs. According to psychotherapists, it is important to deal with stress or burnout to avoid leading to health problems. You can start taking care of your mental health even during work hours by:
Make time to have lunch, go for a walk or even meditate to relax. These small steps will not only help you reduce stress, but increase your productivity in the long run. Set boundaries at work. Be clear about the scope of work you can take on and say no to anything outside of responsibilities. If you can proactively organize your schedule, include extra breaks between appointments or meetings (even 5 minutes counts). Make time during commuting to work or at the end of the day to read, listen to music or do some physical activity – anything that helps relieve stress that has built up and is harmful to your health. This is the time for you to stop thinking, worrying about something else and just take care of yourself. Avoid frequent and prolonged overtime. In summary, work stress doubles your risk of dying from heart disease. So, when you find yourself overworked and stressed, it's important to deal with stress and take care of your mental health properly.

Reference sources: webmd.com, healthline.com