Researchers at Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health School found that psychosocial stress, derived from the difficulty of coping with difficult environments, can work synergistically to put women at a significantly higher risk of coronary heart disease ( CHD).
The study suggests that the effects of work and social stress on women have a strong impact on health, both associated with a 21% higher risk of developing CHD. Work stress occurs when a woman has inadequate power in the workplace to respond to job demands and expectations, according to the study.
In addition, the study found that life events with high stress, such as divorce / separation or physical / verbal abuse, as well as social stress, were independently related to 12% and 9% more. risk of CHD, respectively.
The Drexel study used data from a nationally representative sample of 80,825 postmenopausal women from the Women’s Health Initiative Observatory Study, which followed participants from 1991 to 2015, to find better methods of cancer prevention. , heart disease and osteoporosis in women. In the current follow-up study, Drexel researchers assessed the effects of psychosocial stress derived from work stress, stressful life events, and social stress, as well as the associations between these forms of stress in the workplace. coronary heart disease, according to the study.
During the 14-month, 7-month study, nearly 5% of women developed CHD. Life events with high stress were associated with a 12% increase in CHD risk, adjusting for age, time in the workplace, and socioeconomic characteristics, and high social stress was associated. with a 9% increase in CHD risk; however, the working strain was not independently associated with CHD.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the continuing stress for women in the balance of paid work and social stressors. We know from other studies that work stress may play a role in the development of occupational disease. disease disease, but we can now better identify the combined impact of stress at work and at home on these poor health outcomes, ”said lead author Yvonne Michael, ScD, SM, associate professor at Dornsife School of Public Health, in a press release. “My hope is that these findings will call for better methods of controlling stress in the workplace and remind us of the double burden women workers face as as a result of their unpaid work as home caregivers “.
The study authors point out that future research should evaluate the effects of shift work on cardiovascular disease and explore the effects of gender-based labor demands.
“Our findings are a critical reminder for women and for people who care about them that the threat of stress to human health should not be ignored,” the lead author said. Conglong Wang, PhD, a recent Dornsife graduate who conducted research at Drexel, in the press release. “This is particularly relevant during stressors caused by a pandemic.”
REFERENCE
Work-related stress and social interactions put women at higher risk for coronary heart disease, according to Drexel’s study. Drexel Ara. Published April 9, 2021. Accessed April 16, 2021. https://drexel.edu/now/archive/2021/April/Stress-from-Work-and-Social-Interactions-Put-Women- at-Higher-Risk-of-Coronary-Heart-Diseases /