Many overtime hours drastically increase risk of illness in women

Women who put in very long hours for their careers could pay a high price. Working 60 hours a week or more for three decades triples the risk of diseases such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease and arthritis. This is the conclusion of the Ohio State University. The risk increases when women work more than 40 hours per week and increases dramatically above 50 hours.

Correlation proven
According to research director Allard Dembe, women who have to fulfill multiple roles are particularly affected by the impact of a heavy workload. "People rarely think about the impact their work will have on them later on. This is especially true for women." Men who work a lot seem to fare much better, according to the study, which was revealed during an analysis of interviews with nearly 7,500 people who participated in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.

The researchers analyzed the relationship between serious illnesses and the number of hours worked over a 32-year period. They created averages of the hours participants had worked per week over a 32-year period and compared those numbers to the incidence of eight chronic diseases: Heart disease, cancer other than skin cancer, arthritis or rheumatism, diabetes or high blood sugar levels, chronic lung disease such as bronchitis or emphysema, asthma, depression and hypertension. In addition, the results were examined for gender distribution.

From 50 hours it becomes critical
A minority of full-time employees worked 40 hours or less per week. Fifty-six percent worked between 41 and 50 hours, 13 percent averaged 51 to 60 hours, and three percent averaged more than 60 hours. Women showed a direct link between long hours and heart disease, cancer, arthritis and diabetes. Men who worked long hours were only more likely to develop arthritis. Men who worked between 41 and 50 hours per week even had a lower risk of heart disease, lung disease and depression than those who worked 40 hours or less.

Among the study's limitations is that it only collected data on chronic diseases that began at age 40 or 50. Thus, the study does not explain any possible links between long working hours and lifetime risk. "Early onset of a chronic disease may not only reduce life expectancy and quality, but also increase long-term health care costs. The study is based on average hours worked in a week and does not take into account that workload can also decrease over the course of a career.

Source: Press release