a new study has found that an “alarming” increase in the number of women reporting non-traditional risk factors for heart attack and stroke has risen right alongside the number of women working full-time jobs.
the research,
presented this week at the european stroke organization conference
, said these factors — including work stress, sleep disorders and fatigue — increased more sharply among women than men from 2007 to 2017. the number of women participating in the workforce full time rose from 38 per cent to 44 per cent over the same period.
“our study found men were more likely to smoke and be obese than women but females reported a bigger increase in the non-traditional risk factors for heart attacks and strokes, such as work stress, sleep disorders, and feeling tired and fatigued,”
said dr susanne wegener
, professor of neurology at the university of zurich, switzerland. “this increase coincides with the number of women working full time.
“juggling work and domestic responsibilities or other socio-cultural aspects may be a factor, as well as specific health demands of women that may not be accounted for in our daily ‘busy’ lives.”
the study relied on data from 22,000 men and women in the swiss health study at three separate intervals: 2007, 2012 and 2017. it found that, overall, both sexes reported an increase in work stress — from 59 per cent at the study’s midpoint to 66 per cent in 2017. levels of fatigue and feeling tired similarly rose from 23 per cent to 29 per cent over the same period (33 per cent in women and 29 per cent in men). reports of sleep disorders rose from 24 per cent to 29 per cent, increasing more sharply among women.