Originally published October 26 2005
British study finds employers may actually contribute to heart disease
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The Archives of Internal Medicine has published a report that finds a strong correlation between the quality of someone's work environment and their risk of coronary heart disease.
British civil servants who felt they were being treated fairly at work were at reduced risk of coronary heart disease, a new study reports.
"This is the first study to demonstrate that justice at work may protect against coronary heart disease," said lead author Mika Kivimaki, a professor at the University of Helsinki and the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in Helsinki, Finland.
"Justice, equity and altruism have been the drivers of benign developments in human societies according to a wide range of studies across a broad spectrum of disciplines," Kivimaki said.
This research fits well with previous studies, one of which had shown that employees had lower blood pressure on days they worked with a supervisor they perceived as fair.
Another study (conducted by the same team presenting the new results) found that workplace stress more than doubled the risk of death from heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular conditions.
This seems more a fine tuning of that," said Dr. Stephen Siegel, clinical assistant professor of medicine at New York University School of Medicine.
"Atherosclerotic disease is considered a work-related disability in New York City," Siegel said.
Participants answered questionnaires on perceived justice at work as well as other work-related psychosocial factors at two different times (1985-1988 and 1989-1990).
Siegel cautioned that the findings are only observational.
"It's a very important study and, particularly in the U.S., we have to take a look at this study and maybe conduct our own," Sedhom said.
"I think we in the U.S. work more hours per day than almost any other country and it's important for us to have this sort of justice at work and get a pat on the back from our employer or at least be given some feedback," he added.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml