Long Work Hours Linked to Regular and Hidden High Blood Pressure – Occupational Health and Safety

Long Work Hours Linked to Regular and Hidden High Blood Pressure

A recent study by the American Heart Association tested the blood pressure from employees who worked 49-plus hours on the job weekly compared with that of those who worked fewer than 35 hours a week. The results suggest a bigger problem of hypertension than expected.

High blood pressure is incredibly common, and there may be more hidden, work-related factors than health officials originally predicted. Office workers who spend long hours on the job are more likely to have high blood pressure, but this also includes a hidden type that often goes undetected during routine checkups.

About half of Americans older than 18 years old experience hypertension, and its a primary factor is over 82,000 deaths per year. Approximately 15-30 percent of U.S. adults have a type of high blood pressure that is particularly hard to detect and goes underreported: masked hypertension, meaning their high blood pressure readings are normal during health care visits but elevated when measured elsewhere.

A recent study published in the American Heart Associations journal Hypertension analyzed data from over 3,5000 white-collar employees at three public institutions in Quebec, Canada, according to Science Daily. The study compared the blood pressure from employees who worked 49 or more hours a week with those who worked 35 hours or fewer.

Researchers found the following results:

Elevated blood pressure is notoriously linked to other health complications such as a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. Like the associated risks that come with high blood pressure, the study goes to show that there are also many factors that contribute to high blood pressure, such as smoking, being overweight, lack of physical activity, too much salt or alcohol in the diet, stress, older age, and genetics, among other things. Researchers admit there are likely other factors outside of long work hours that contribute to participants readings.

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Long Work Hours Linked to Regular and Hidden High Blood Pressure - Occupational Health and Safety