Office Stress Increases Type-2 Diabetes Risk

Stress at the workplace could lead to type-2 diabetes among employees, a new research shows.

For the study, the researchers Helmholtz Zentrum München examined the prospective data from a population-based study. They found that people who were stressed out due to office related work were 45 percent more prone to develop type-2 diabetes.

The study was conducted on more than 5,300 employed participants. All were aged between 29 and 66. They had taken part in the population-based MONICA/KORA* cohort study and none had diabetes before the study.

The researchers tracked the participants for an average of 13 years. They found that at least 300 participants developed type-2 diabetes.

According to the findings, job strain independently increases the risk of type-2 diabetes. The findings were true even after accounting for other risk factors like obesity, age or gender.

Researchers stated that the study results are of concern as high level of mental stress is different from "normal job stress" and was seen in participants whose work was high and freedom for activity or decision making was low.

"According to our data, roughly one in five people in employment is affected by high levels of mental stress at work. By that, scientists do not mean 'normal job stress' but rather the situation in which the individuals concerned rate the demands made upon them as very high, and at the same time they have little scope for maneuver or for decision making. We covered both these aspects in great detail in our surveys," lead study author Professor Karl-Heinz Ladwig said in a press release

"In view of the huge health implications of stress-related disorders, preventive measures to prevent common diseases such as diabetes should therefore also begin at this point," said Ladwig.

The study was published in the scientific journal Psychosomatic Medicine.