More hypertension among low-status workers

DAVIS, Calif., June 11 (UPI) -- Executives and others with high-status careers are less likely to have hypertension than those with lower-status jobs, U.S. researchers say.

However, the study, published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, also finds that retirement from some occupations may not provide relief from the health effects of work-related hypertension.

"People's occupations during their working years can clearly be a risk for hypertension after they retire," senior study author Paul Leigh of the University of California, Davis said in a statement. "The body seems to have built up a stress reaction that takes years to ramp down and may last well beyond age 75."

Leigh and Juan Du of the College of New Jersey looked at 7,289 men and women age 65 and older, whose occupations ran from managers and white-collar professionals to clerical and blue-collar workers.

After controlling for education, race, income, smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index and co-morbidities, they analyzed the data for statistical associations.

"The conventional wisdom was that the people at the top would be more likely to have hypertension, but just the opposite is true," Leigh said.

Unlike executives and professionals, workers on the lower rungs have little control over decisions, they do not control their time and they may feel insecure in the workplace hierarchy. Consequently, their stress levels tend to be higher, which can lead to high blood pressure and, eventually, hypertension, Leigh said.