Long work hours increase risk of heart disease: Study

Employees working more than 10 hours per day at greatest risk

Long work hours can increase an individual’s risk of developing heart disease, found a study published in last week’s Annals of Internal Medicine.

Employees working more than 10 hours per day were 67 per cent more likely to develop heart disease than those working seven or eight hours, found the study, which was conducted by researchers at the University College London in the United Kingdom.

Working long hours at the office may lead to an unhealthy lifestyle, with little time for exercise and healthy eating, said researchers.

This study examined the time spent working — including work taken home — of more than 7,000 civil service workers in the U.K. from a wide variety of industries and positions. The workers were followed from 1991 to 2004.

Fifty-four per cent of participants worked between seven and eight hours per day, 21 per cent worked nine hours per day and 15 per cent worked 10 hours per day. Slightly more than 10 per cent worked 11 hours or more per day, found the study.

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