Workplace Instability Raises Heart Risk

Mind-Body-Spirit News:

An unstable work environment, where workers are unsure of their roles and lack clear communication, increases the risk of heart attack, according to a large longitudinal study published in The American Journal of Public Health (2008; 98, doi:10.2105/AJPH.2007.122382.). Finnish researchers from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in Helsinki studied 7,663 employees for 18 years. None of the workers had a history of heart disease when the study began.

The scientists reached their conclusion by measuring predictability at work—specifically, clarity of goals; ability to foresee work problems and changes (i.e., a low incidence of unexpected changes); and work awareness, or knowledge of how one’s tasks related to the whole. After adjusting for other factors, investigators found that low predictability at work was associated over time with a higher risk of heart attack.

The scientists did not identify the mechanisms underlying this result. However, they suggested that, among other factors, an increase in sympathetic nervous system activity might have led to cardiac instability or mental strain, which in turn could have elevated the risk of hypertension and metabolic syndrome.

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Shirley Archer, JD, MA

IDEA Author/Presenter

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Shirley Archer, JD, MA, was the 2008 IDEA Fitness Instructor of the Year and is IDEA’s mind-bo... moreShirley Archer, JD, MA, was the 2008 IDEA Fitness Instructor of the Year and is IDEA’s mind-body-spirit spokesperson. She is a certified yoga and Pilates teacher and an award-winning author based in Palm Beach, Florida, and Zurich, Switzerland. Two of her books, The Walking Deck and The Strength and Toning Deck, are now featured as iPhone apps. Contact her at www.shirleyarcher.com. less

IDEA Fitness Journal, Volume 6, Number 2

February 2009

© 2009 by IDEA Health & Fitness Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited.

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