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Working long hours can have adverse health effects – from increased stress to higher rates of some chronic diseases. Now, in the latest study exploring the effect of extended working hours, researchers say that type 2 diabetes could be one of them.
Mahee Gilbert-Ouimet, Epidemiologist and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Toronto Institute for Work and Health His colleagues analyzed data from a database of more than 7,000 workers in Canada who were followed for more than 12 years to better understand if working hours can affect the risk of diabetes. In the study, published in BMJ Diabetes Research & Care they report that women working more than 45 hours a week had a 51% higher risk of developing diabetes during the period of time. study compared to women working 35 to 40 hours a week. (This was after the scientists adjusted for other potential factors that could affect the risk of diabetes, including physical activity, BMI and smoking.) Have not seen the same effect in men; in fact, men working longer seemed to be less likely to develop diabetes than men working less hours
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"I was surprised to find the protective effect of extended hours of work among men," says Gilbert-Ouimet. "In women, we know that women tend to take on a lot of family tasks and responsibilities outside the workplace, so we can assume that working long hours on top of that can be detrimental to health." For example, the effect of longer working hours was more pronounced for women working more than 45 hours a week at work and living with children under 12 years of age.
Another possible reason for this difference may be related to the type of work reported; In the study, about a third of men working long hours said that they spent their time doing a combination of sitting, standing and walking, compared to only 8% of women who worked longer . The higher level of physical activity men can help explain, in part, their lower risk of developing diabetes.
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add to the growing understanding of how working hours affect one's health, and in particular diabetes. Previous studies have shown, like this one, that people working longer hours seemed to have a higher risk of developing diabetes compared to those working fewer hours, but only among those with a status lower socioeconomic level. Most studies included only men, not women. Gilbert-Ouimet and her team did not find a similar distribution of risk by skill level, but she notes that there were few cases of diabetes among people with less-skilled jobs, and that their study may not have the statistical power of
The fact that long hours of work may be related to diabetes is not entirely surprising. People who work more than 40 hours a week may experience higher levels of stress, which can change hormones like cortisol. Changes in cortisol can affect the body's insulin levels and its ability to break down sugar. Higher stress can also disrupt sleep and lead to a deterioration of mental health, which can contribute to changes in weight and insulin level and contribute to diabetes
MORE : This Japanese firm wants to use drones Gilbert-Ouimet hopes that the results will stimulate conversations between doctors and their patients about the role that long working hours can play to undermine health – especially among women who might already have d? other risk factors for developing diabetes. "I think doctors should be wondering how many hours a week their patients work," she says. "And if women also have risk factors, they should talk more about follow-up visits or diabetes tests." She also adds that, given the new standard, smartphones keep everyone working. what long hours can do for your body and your health, and maybe force you to do a little less and take care of yourself more. "
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