Overtime Work Is Bad for the Heart, New Research Finds

[The Straight Story]

Overtime Work Is Bad for the Heart, New Research Finds

ScienceDaily (May 11, 2010) — Working overtime is bad for the heart according to results from a long-running study following more than 10,000 civil servants in London (UK): the Whitehall II study.

The research, which is published online in the European Heart Journal, found that, compared with people who did not work overtime, 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 (UK), 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 CHD risk, but more research is needed before we can be confident that overtime work would cause CHD. In addition, we need more research on other health outcomes, such as depression and type 2 diabetes."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100511092145.htm

[Rex]

1. Yeah 12 - 15 hour work days will kill a person.

Tried it and lasted about 3 years...man was that a job!

[guitar man]

2. I'm a dead man

:(

[Soylent Brice]

6. +1

[DJ13]

3. I wonder how much overtime was needed to compile that research

And yeah, OT is hard on people.

So are rotating shifts without OT.

[abelenkpe]

4. A normal seven hour day?

REally? Who works a seven hour day. It's 9 - 6. Lunch doesn't count so it's a nine hour day. At least that's what my overlords say.

They're nice overlords, only require OT for half a year on average giving me Sundays once in a while. It's amazing how fast kids grow when you never see them.

:P

[guitar man]

7. no kidding

Hell, I have 7 hours in before lunch on a lot of days :P

[DesertFlower]

9. in new york city it's a 7 hour day --.

9 to 5 with an hour for lunch. anything more than a 35 hour week is paid at time and a half.

[abelenkpe]

11. Really?

I've heard rumors that NY also has the best unemployment benefits too. Is that true?

I'm in LA. :(

[DesertFlower]

15. yes. it's a 7 hour day.

i heard it's because of commuting time which is weird. there's traffic here in phoenix and it's an 8 hour day.

new york unemployment is only $405 max. my friend lives in new jersey. he gets more than that. i think the max there is $560. go figure.

here in arizona the max is $240. to be eligible for medicaid you can't make more than $860 a month. so even collecting a crummy $240 a week, you wouldn't have health care.

[abelenkpe]

16. Ouch!

Arizona is so beautiful but that is harsh. Stay safe and well! Hopefully one day soon we'll all have a normal 7 hour day. Plus benefits. :)

[DesertFlower]

17. beautiful and red.

hopefully this year's election will help. we've got a nice young democrat, rodney glassman who will hopefully take McCain's seat.

[abelenkpe]

5. He concludes by...

... quoting the English philosopher Bertrand Russell: " 'If I were a medical man, I should prescribe a holiday to any patient who considers work important'."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Any patient who considers work important probably only feels that way because without the work they have no home, no food and no medical care for themselves or their family. Cure that why don't you?

[DesertFlower]

8. i worked overtime for 10 years.

the money was great. i do have chronic fatigue syndrome. did it come from the overtime? i don't know. i would be more inclined to believe it came from the recycled air in the building i worked in.

[UndertheOcean]

10. Really ? they needed s study to prove this ?

Hey , at least they employed some people

[NNN0LHI]

12. My regular shift before I retired was 12 hours a day 7 days a week

I don't expect to live to an old ripe age.

Don

[JackDragna]

13. What are some cheap methods of burial/body disposal?

Given the hours I work, the magic eight ball says I'm going to die tomorrow. Would anyone here like my corpse? It will have many useful functions, such as paperweight or scarecrow.

[Hannah Bell]

14. duh.