Older men with stressful jobs and little power face heart risk

Older men who have stressful jobs in which they are unable to make decisions are four times more likely to suffer heart attacks or unstable angina, researchers at University College Cork have found.

The study, published in scientific journal Occupational Medicine has prompted experts to call on employers to be more cognisant of the welfare of their older employees.

The UCC researchers looked at 227 people from four Cork coronary care/intensive care units aged between 35 and 74 years. Each had been admitted with a first-time “coronary event”.

The study found older men with stressful jobs and little power to make decisions are more likely to suffer with heart disease than their peers with less job strain. It found older male workers who had a heart attack or unstable angina were four times as likely to have high job strain.

The researchers had adjusted the results to exclude the effects of socioeconomic factors, smoking and being overweight.

Vera McCarthy, lead author of the research, said: “This study is important because of our increasing ageing population, as it provides information on older workers necessary to inform policy makers, clinicians, occupational health physicians and employers.”

With Ireland’s workforce getting older, the authors said employers will be expected to make work more attractive and feasible for older staff, enabling them to work up to and beyond pension age.

Dr Richard Heron, president of the Society of Occupational Medicine, said: “These results suggest that older workers may be more susceptible to job strain. Employers need to ensure that they are looking after the health of their older employees, making necessary adjustments and being flexible about the jobs they do and their working practices.”