Stress causes heart disease and diabetes

Workers who suffer from chronic stress in their job are more likely to develop heart disease and diabetes, according to new research.

As part of the Whitehall II study of more than 10,000 civil servants, researchers looked at “metabolic syndrome”, which encompasses conditions such as hypertension, obesity and high cholesterol.

They found that men with high levels of stress were twice as likely to suffer from the syndrome as those not exposed to stress. A smaller study of female workers suggested that high stress carried five times the risk.

Tarani Chandola and others, “Chronic stress at work and the metabolic syndrome: prospective study”, British Medical Journal, 20 January 2006, bmj.bmjjournals.com