Prolonged exposure to work-related stress may increase likelihood of cancer.
The
findings indicate that the link was observed in men, who had been
exposed to 15 to 30 years of work-related stress and in some cases, more
than 30 years.
According
to the study published in journal of Preventive Medicine, prolonged
exposure of men to work-related stress has been linked to an increased
likelihood of lung, colon, rectal and stomach cancer and non-Hodgkin
lymphoma.
Researchers
at INRS and Universite de Montreal in Canada conducted the study to
assess the link between cancer and work-related stress perceived by men
throughout their working life.
On average, the study participants had held four jobs, with some holding up to a dozen or more during their working lifetime.
On average, the study participants had held four jobs, with some holding up to a dozen or more during their working lifetime.
A link between work-related stress and cancer was not found in participants who had held stressful jobs for less than 15 years.
Significant links to five of the eleven cancers considered in the study were revealed.
The
most stressful jobs included firefighter, industrial engineer,
aerospace engineer, mechanic foreman, and vehicle and railway-equipment
repair worker and for the same individual, stress varied depending on
the job held.
The study also shows that perceived stress is not limited to high work load and time constraints.
"One
of the biggest flaws in previous cancer studies is that none of them
assessed work-related stress over a full working lifetime, making it
impossible to determine how the duration of exposure to work-related
stress affects cancer development," the authors explained.
"Our study shows the importance of measuring stress at different points in an individual's working life," the authors noted.
Customer
service, sales commissions, responsibilities, the participant's anxious
temperament, job insecurity, financial problems, challenging or
dangerous work conditions, employee supervision, interpersonal conflict
and a difficult commute were all sources of stress listed by the
participants.