COMMENT

People who work long hours have a greater risk of developing an irregular heart rhythm that increases their chances of having a stroke, according to new research.

The study of 85,000 men and women showed that compared to individuals who work a normal week of between 35-40 hours, those who worked 55 hours or more were about 40 per cent more likely to develop atrial fibrillation during the following ten years. For every 1,000 people in the study, an extra 5.2 cases of atrial fibrillation occurred among those working long hours during the ten-year follow up. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a heart condition that causes an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate.

During the ten-year followup period, there were 1,061 new cases of atrial fibrillation. This gave an incidence rate of 12.4 per 1,000 people in the study but among the 4.484 people working 55 hours or more the incidence was 17.6 per 1,000.

Professor Mika Kivimaki, from the department of epidemiology at University College London, said: “Those who worked long hours had a

“Significantly, this study clearly shows that the link between atrial fibrillation and long working hours has nothing to do with other risk factors”

PROF SIR NILESH SAMANI