Young women 'face work stress risk'

Young women 'face work stress risk'

Stress at work can greatly raise the risk of heart disease for women under 50, a study of more than 12,000 nurses suggests. The study, published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, concludes work pressure has a greater effect on young women than those in their 50s and 60s. Danish researchers asked 12,116 female nurses aged between 45 and 64 about pressure at work and tracked their health for 15 years up to 2008. By then, 580 nurses had been admitted to hospital with ischaemic heart disease, including 369 cases of angina and 138 heart attacks. Nurses who indicated that their work pressures were a little too high were 25 per cent more likely to have ischaemic heart disease as those who said their work pressures were manageable and appropriate. But those who felt work pressures were much too high were almost 50 per cent more likely to have ischaemic heart disease. After taking account of risk factors for heart disease, such as smoking and lifestyle, the risk fell to 35 per cent, but still remained significant. When the findings were analysed by age, only the nurses under the age of 51 were at significant risk of heart disease. In a separate analysis, the researchers looked at the impact of work pressures on the same group, but for just five years up to 1998. Nurses who felt themselves to be moderately pressurised at work were 60 per cent more likely to have ischaemic heart disease, while those who said they faced excessive pressures at work were almost twice as likely to have it. These findings held true even after taking account of other risk factors. 'It seems as if the effect of work pressure has a greater impact on younger nurses,' say the authors. 'This is in agreement with findings from previous studies looking at age specific effects in both men and women.' They say the lower risk among older nurses may be due to other risk factors that become relatively more important with increasing age. Vulnerable individuals may have already left work, they add.

Yrsa Andersen Hundrup and others. Psychosocial work environment and risk of ischaemic heart disease in women: the Danish Nurse Cohort Study, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, volume 67, pages 318-322, 2010 [pdf