(20 August 2015) A major review of research covering over 600,000 men and women concludes that longer working hours increase the risk of strokes compared to standard working hours. The analysis of 25 published and unpublished research concluded that individuals who work 55 hours or more per week have a 1·3-times higher risk of incident of strokes than those working standard hours (35-40 hours a week.
The research appears in the latest issue of the British medical journal The Lancet and the article and a further commentary in the journal are available below. The data in the research were adjusted to take account of factors such as age, sex, socioeconomic status, smoking, body-mass index,
physical activity and alcohol consumption.
The commentary that accompanies the article refers to the existence of legislation aimed at regulating working hours, such as the EU Working Time Directive, but notes that this is often not fully implemented.This article goes on to make a very straightforward statement:
"Essentially, if long working hours present a danger to health, it should be possible to change them, which is not always the case with other work environmental factors."
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