Researchers at Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University have found that psychosocial stress, which results from difficulty coping with difficult environments, can work synergistically to put women at significantly higher risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD). .
The study suggests that the effects of the strain at work and social disorders on women have a strong impact on health, both of which are associated with a 21% higher risk of developing CHD. The work attempt occurs when a woman has inadequate power at work to meet the requirements and expectations of the job, according to the study.
Furthermore, the study found that high-stress life events, such as divorce / separation or physical / verbal abuse, as well as social strain, were each independently linked to a 12% and 9% higher risk of CHD, respectively. .
The Drexel study used data from a nationally representative sample of 80,825 postmenopausal women in the Women’s Health Initiative Observatory Study, which followed participants from 1991 to 2015, to find better ways to prevent cancer. heart disease and osteoporosis in women. In the current follow-up study, Drexel researchers assessed the effects of psychosocial stress in the workplace strain, stressful life events and the social strain, as well as the associations between these forms of stress on CHD, according to the study.
During the 14-year, 7-month study, almost 5% of women developed CHD. Life events with high stress were associated with an increased risk of CHD of 12%, age adjustment, time at work and socioeconomic characteristics, and high social strain was associated with an increased risk of 9% of CHD. CHD; however, the working strain was not independently associated with CHD.
“The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the ongoing stress for women in balancing paid work and social stressors. We know from other studies that the strain of labor may play a role in the development of CHD, but now we can better identify the combined impact of stress at work and at home on these poor health outcomes, ”said lead author Yvonne Michael, ScD, SM, an associate professor at Dornsife School of Public Health, in a press release. “My hope is that these findings are a call for better methods of monitoring stress at work and remind us of the double burden facing women working as a result of their unpaid work as home caregivers.”
The study authors note that future research should assess the effects of shift work on CHD and explore the effects of gender-based job demands.
“Our findings are a critical reminder to women and those who care about them that the threat of stress to human health should not be ignored,” said lead author Conglong Wang, PhD, a recent Dornsife graduate who conducted research in while at Drexel. , in the press release. This is especially relevant during stressors caused by a pandemic.
REFERENCE
Work stress and social interactions put women at higher risk for coronary heart disease, the Drexel study suggests. Drexel Now. 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- coronary heart disease /