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Study Shows Your Office Job Could Kill You

Stressed desk jockeys 68% more likely to suffer heart disease

By Katherine Thompson,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 23, 2008 3:09 PM CST
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(Newser) – Researchers at University College London have found that stressful working conditions interfere with the body's ability to deal with high-pressure situations, the Daily Telegraph reports. Company cogs under 50 with high workloads and little control over their situations had a 68% greater chance of succumbing to heart disease than more-relaxed counterparts, according to a study of 10,000 British civil servants.

The 12-year study also noticed that fast-paced working environments correlated with poor eating habits, high rates of smoking, and low physical fitness. What can office drones do to keep on ticking? It's nothing you haven't heard before: A British nurse recommends "keeping fit and active" to "reduce the risk of heart disease."

Repeatedly high levels of stress can make it hard for the heartbeat to return to normal rates, thus running the risk of health problems, says a UCL study on stressed-out office workers.
Repeatedly high levels of stress can make it hard for the heartbeat to return to normal rates, thus running the risk of health problems, says a UCL study on stressed-out office workers.   (KRT Photos)
The autonomic nervous system defends the heart from stress, but repeated high levels of adrenaline can make it hard to return the important muscle to its normal resting state, say the authors of a new study on workplace stress. (AP Photo/Tom Gannam)
The autonomic nervous system defends the heart from stress, but repeated high levels of adrenaline can make it hard to return the important muscle to its normal resting state, say the authors of a new...   (Associated Press)
Workplace frustration may be more dangerous than you thought, according to UCL's new study.
Workplace frustration may be more dangerous than you thought, according to UCL's new study.   (ShutterStock/Suzanne Tucker)
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In US, heart deaths dropping overall
CBS News

Sure, office workers have stress, but what about farmers?
Farmnews (NZ)

 
heart disease • stress • heart health • office workers • University College London

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