Research Plus

Overtime raises CHD risk

A study of more than 6,000 UK civil servants (aged 39–61 years, 71% male) finds that overtime work is related to increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) independently of other risk factors. Just under half the participants worked overtime: 21% worked one hour, 15% two, and 10% three or four extra hours per day. There were 369 new CHD events in the 11-year follow-up (5.46 events per 1,000 person-years). Three to four hours’ overtime per day resulted in a 1.56-times increased risk of CHD, after adjusting for known risk factors.

European Heart Journal 2010; online first: doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehq124.

Tags evidence based practice heart disease

Occupational Health at Work June/July 2010 (vol. 07/1) pp38