Working overtime increases the risk of heart diseases, according to results from a study following more than 10,000 civil servants in London.
The research, published online in the European Heart Journal, found that people who worked three or more hours longer than a normal, seven-hour day had a 60% higher risk of heart-related problems such as death due to heart disease, non-fatal heart attacks and angina. Dr Marianna Virtanen, an epidemiologist at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki (Finland) and University College London, said: “The association between long hours and coronary heart disease was independent of a range of risk factors that we measured at the start of the study, such as smoking, being overweight, or having high cholesterol. Our findings suggest a link between working long hours and increased coronary heart disease risk, but more research is needed.”
