Do you work long hours? Then be extra careful. According to a new study, this can increase your risk of stroke.
University College London researchers led by Dr. Mika Kivimaki determined that the risk of stroke can increase by at least 10% once the employees work more than the 9-5 job or 40 hours per week.
The study, which has been published in Lancet, looked into the unpublished information of over 15 different cohort studies that involved the working population. Overall, they reviewed data of over 600,000 people for 25 studies from the beginning of Embase and PubMed to August 2014.
At the start of the study, the respondents were in good health and didn't show any sign of cardiovascular disease. Over time, however, those who worked for 47 hours per week experienced 10% increase of risk. It went up to almost 28% when they worked for 54 hours. Working for 55 hours or 11 hours per day in a week could boost the risk by 33%.
Meanwhile, among the 35- to 40-year-olds in the working population, less than 5 strokes could occur in every 1,000 employees per 10 years. However, there's an increase of an extra stroke for the same population size and range once they worked for at least 55 hours per week.
The study is currently in the initial stages, and thus, the researchers are aware of its limitations. For example, they haven't figured out what has caused the increased risk, although they theorized the impact of stress in a person's lifestyle and prolonged sitting may contribute to it.
Nevertheless, they are advising people who toil beyond 5:00 p.m. in the office to pay more attention to their blood pressure and having it checked regularly.
In a separate study, Stroke Association study showed that more working-age UK men are admitted into hospitals than 14 years ago.