Research Shows People Who Work More Than 60 Hours A Week Are At Great Risk Of High Blood Pressure

A study revealed that people who spend more than 60 hours a week at the office are more likely to have high blood pressure than those who work less than 52 hours a week.

The Chosunilbo reported Saturday that over 10,000 office workers were surveyed by the Seoul Medical Center to find out the effects of spending long hours working at the office.

Analysis of the study reportedly showed a close connection between the working atmosphere and high blood pressure. The study also revealed that people who work more than 60 hours in a week are 2.14 times more to have high blood pressure as compared to those who only spend less than 52 hours a week at the office.

"Office workers tend to gain weight because they're mostly sedentary, which pushes up blood pressure," said Professor Shin Joo Han from Ajou University Hospital.  "If you're overweight, your blood pressure goes up as fat cells give off a substance that contracts peripheral blood vessels."

He went on, "Even if you aren't overweight, your blood pressure can go up because your blood vessels harden if you don't exercise enough."

Meanwhile, a study revealed in August said people who spend more than 55 hours a week at the office have greater risk of stroke, as noted by New York Times Aug. 19.

"Earlier studies have pointed to heart attacks as a risk of long working hours, but not stroke," said Professor Urban Janlert from Umea University. "That's surprising."

The survey reportedly involved more than 600,000 people in Europe, which was considered the largest research on the correlation of working hours and cardiovascular health.

A professor of medicine in the division of cardiology at the Mayo Clinic suggested that job strain could also be linked to stroke.

"You have higher blood pressure when you have job strain," Dr. Stephen L. Kopecky said. "And guess what that's associated with? Stroke."