Researchers from the Department of Cardiology at the Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, have found out that people who work under the category of High-Stress jobs have a 22 percent greater risk of having a stroke, over those who work under low-strain jobs.
The study also found out that women have a 33 percent chance of going into stroke.
In a report from Reuters, Dr. Jennifer J. Majersik from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, said that, "everyone intuitively knows that stress increases illness in general, and this shows work stress increases stroke risk."
The research utilized an analysis of six previously published studies from several countries such as U.S., Sweden, Japan and Finland, that included nearly 140,000 people who were followed for up to 17 years.
The team of researchers used an existing classification system to categorize job stress based on demands (such as time pressure), mental load or coordination, and control (such as the worker's ability to decide when or how they complete tasks). The researchers did not include the amount of physical work needed and the total number of working hours.
The four categories and their examples are as follows:
- Passive Job. Have little control and demand. (Manual Laborers such as Miners and Janitors)
- Low-stress Job. Have high control but little demand. (Architects and Scientists)
- Active Job. Have high control and demand. (Doctors, Engineers, Teachers)
- High-Stress Job. Have low control but high demand. (Nursing Aide, Waiters)
The researchers found based on the data gathered that those who worked under High-Stress Jobs have a 58 percent more risk of an ischemic stroke--or a stroke caused by a blood-clot in the brain, than those who fall under Low-Stress Jobs. Passive and Active Jobs did not have any increase in the risk of having a stroke.
According to Majersik, increasing control on High-Stress Jobs can have be a possibility in alleviating the risks of having a stroke.
"Things like telecommuting, flexible work hours, allowing decision making to not be as top heavy, allowing people to make decisions about their own jobs, [will help]," said Majersik.
The research was published in the journal Neurology.
