CHD Risk Increased for Men Exposed to Work Strain, Effort-Reward Imbalance

FRIDAY, Sept. 22, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Men exposed to job strain or effort-reward imbalance (ERI) have an increased risk for coronary heart disease (CHD), according to a study published online Sept. 19 in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

Mathilde Lavigne-Robichaud, from the CHU de Québec Université Laval Research Center in Quebec City, and colleagues followed 6,465 white-collar workers without cardiovascular disease for 18 years (2000 to 2018) to examine the separate and combined effect of job strain and ERI on CHD incidence. Validated questionnaires were used to measure job strain and ERI. Validated algorithms were used to retrieve CHD events from medico-administrative databases.

The researchers found that 571 of the 3,118 men had a first CHD event. The researchers observed an adjusted increase in CHD risk for exposure to either job strain or ERI (hazard ratio, 1.49). The risk for CHD was further increased in association with combined exposure to job strain and ERI (hazard ratio, 2.03). These associations were not altered on exclusion of early CHD cases and censoring at retirement. Overall, 265 of the 3,347 women had a first CHD event. Findings among women were inconclusive for the association of exposure to job strain or ERI with CHD.

"Men exposed to job strain or ERI, separately and in combination, were at increased risk of CHD," the authors write. "Both types of psychosocial stressors at work contribute to CHD burden among men."

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