Regular overtime and cardiovascular functions.

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Cardiovascular Physiology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Long working hours are linked to adverse health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease.
• Previous research highlights the need to understand the specific impact of regular overtime on cardiovascular function.
• Objective biological indices are crucial for assessing these effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the isolated effect of regular overtime work on cardiovascular functions.
• To identify objective biological markers indicative of chronic overtime's impact on cardiovascular health.
• To analyze the relationship between overtime and cardiovascular parameters in engineers.

Main Methods:

• A field survey involving 238 male engineers in South Korean electronics manufacturing companies.
• Data collection included self-report questionnaires on working hours, health, and fatigue.
• Objective measurements of blood pressure and heart rate variability (HRV) were performed.

Main Results:

• Multivariate analyses revealed associations between overtime work and specific cardiovascular functions.
• Confounding factors like age and sleep hours were controlled for in the analyses.
• The low-frequency component of HRV emerged as a potential early objective biomarker for chronic overtime effects on cardiovascular health.

Conclusions:

• Regular overtime work is associated with alterations in cardiovascular function.
• HRV, specifically the low-frequency component, may serve as an early indicator of chronic overtime's cardiovascular impact.
• Further validation through prospective studies is recommended to confirm these findings.