People who work irregular hours or work shifts face an increased risk of suffering heart attacks and strokes, researchers warned today.
Shift workers face a 23 per cent increased risk of suffering a heart attack and a five per cent increased risk of having a stroke, according to the analysis.
Experts said the findings highlight the need for people who work irregular hours to ensure they keep fit and get good diet.
It is unclear whether the problem is because irregular working hours tends to be linked to unhealthy lifestyle – or whether there are physical problems linked to sunlight deprivation or disruption to the body’s internal clock.
The findings, reported in the British Medical Journal, come from an analysis of 34 pieces of research with more than two million participants. These included more than 6,500 heart attacks.
Researcher Daniel Hackam, from the Stroke Prevention & Atherosclerosis Research Centre (SPARC), London, Ontario, Canada, said the findings highlighted the need to pay attention to the health of shift-workers.
Ellen Mason, of the British Heart Foundation, said: "Although the associated increased risk to an individual shift worker was relatively small, many Brits don’t work nine to five and so these findings becomes much more significant.
“Whether you work nights, evenings or regular office hours, eating healthily, getting active and quitting smoking can make a big difference to your heart health. Anyone over 40 in England should take advantage of a free NHS health check which will examine blood pressure, cholesterol levels and BMI."
She added: "We also need to raise awareness in the workplace about the signs and symptoms of a heart attack or stroke and urge everybody to call 999 at the first sign of trouble.”
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