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Longer work hours may increase hypertension incidence
White-collar employees working long hours have a greater prevalence of masked and sustained hypertension than those working fewer hours, according to research published in Hypertension.
After adjustment for sociodemographics, lifestyle-related risk factors, diabetes, family history of CVD and job strain, researchers found that working at least 49 hours per week was independently associated with incidence of masked hypertension (prevalence ratio = 1.7; 95% CI, 1.09-2.64).
Moreover, the association with sustained hypertension was of comparable magnitude for those working at least 49 hours per week (prevalence ratio = 1.66; 95% CI, 1.15-2.5).
“People should be aware that long work hours might affect their heart health, and if they’re working long hours, they should ask their doctors about checking their BP over time with a wearable monitor,” Xavier Trudel, PhD, assistant professor in the social and preventive medicine department at Laval University in Quebec, said in a press release. “Masked hypertension can affect someone for a long period of time and is associated, in the long term, with an increased risk of developing CVD. We have previously shown that over 5 years, about one out of five people with masked hypertension never showed high BP in a clinical setting, potentially delaying diagnosis and treatment.”
Increasing hours and hypertension
Researchers noted that as working hours increased, white-collar workers experienced an increased prevalence of masked and sustained hypertension. Participants were stratified into four groups by weekly work hours: less than 35, 35 to 40, 41 to 48 and more than 48.
“Different mechanisms have been put forward to explain the relationship between long working hours and cardiovascular health,” the researchers wrote. “First, long working hours could be associated with sleep deprivation, which has been shown to increase cardiovascular risk. It has also been hypothesized that overtime work could imply prolonged exposure to and less time to recover from psychosocial stressors from the work environment. However, our results do not support this hypothesis since the association between long working hours and hypertension was robust to statistical adjustment for job strain exposure.”
Definitions and limitations
Researchers took BP measurements at three time points over 5 years from 3,547 white-collar workers, according to the study. Working hours were self-reported and BP was measured using an ambulatory BP device in a research office at the participants’ workplace.
The study “did not include blue-collar workers (employees who are paid by the hour and perform manual labor work in positions such as agriculture, manufacturing, construction, mining, maintenance or hospitality service), therefore, these findings may not reflect the impact on BP of shift-work or positions with higher physical demands,” the researchers said in the press release.
Masked hypertension was defined as clinic BP of less than 140/90 mm Hg and ambulatory BP of at least 135/85 mm Hg. Sustained hypertension was defined as clinic BP of at least 140/90 mm Hg and ambulatory BP of at least 135/85 mm Hg or if the participant was receiving treatment for hypertension.
“The observed associations accounted for job strain, a work stressor defined as a combination of high work demands and low decision-making authority. However, other related stressors might have an impact,” Trudel said in the release. “Future research could examine whether family responsibilities — such as a worker’s number of children, household duties and child care role — might interact with work circumstances to explain high BP.” – by Scott Buzby
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.