By IANS
London : Work stress raises the risk of heart disease, says a 12-year study that advises people to stay active and fit if they want to reduce the risk.
The researchers at the University College London focussed on more than 10,000 British civil servants and found that the risk was higher in people under 50.
The study appeared in the European Heart Journal said both men and women under 50 with stress are 70 percent more likely to develop heart disease than the stress free.
Stress appeared to upset the part of the nervous system which controls the heart, telling it how to work and controlling the variability of the heart rate, reported the online edition of BBC News.
The study on Whitehall employees covered mandarins to messengers.
The scientists also found those who reported stressful jobs appeared less likely to eat sufficient amounts of fruits and vegetables, and were less likely to exercise – although problem drinking did not emerge as a significant problem.
Lifestyle, the researchers concluded, was nonetheless a key factor in the development of the disease.
The team said they are now confident and understand the biological mechanisms that link stress and disease, a connection widely held to exist but which has been difficult to prove.