Related Experiment Videos
Long working hours and occupational stress-related cardiovascular attacks among middle-aged workers in Japan
1Department of Epidemiology, Institute of Public Health, Tokyo, Japan.
Insights
Karoshi, or fatal attacks from overwork, disproportionately affects middle-aged men. Long working hours, exceeding 60 hours weekly, are a primary trigger for these cardiovascular events.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Sociomedical Science
Background:
- Karoshi, a phenomenon of death from overwork, highlights the severe health consequences of modern work environments.
- Cardiovascular attacks are a significant cause of Karoshi, impacting workers across various industries.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the sociomedical background and precipitating factors of Karoshi among victims of cardiovascular attacks.
- To identify the specific working conditions and events associated with Karoshi.
Main Methods:
- Survey of 203 Karoshi victims who experienced cardiovascular attacks and claimed workers' compensation.
- Analysis of sociomedical factors, including working hours, overtime, holidays, and specific work-related stressors.
Main Results:
- 203 cases (196 males, 7 females) included strokes, acute cardiac failures, myocardial infarctions, and aortic ruptures.
- Two-thirds of victims worked long hours (>60 hr/week, >50 hr overtime/month, or >half holidays missed).
- Stressors varied by occupation: white-collar (career, travel, norms, location changes), blue-collar (night shifts, staffing, driving). 88 cases reported acute work-related events before the attack.
Conclusions:
- Karoshi is a work-related disease primarily triggered by prolonged working hours.
- Both long hours and acute work-related stressors contribute to fatal cardiovascular events.
- Understanding these factors is crucial for developing preventative strategies in occupational health.
Abstract:
Two hundred and three Karoshi victims who suffered cardiovascular attacks and for whom workers' compensations was claimed were surveyed. These cases were 196 males and 7 females in middle age, and comprised 123 strokes, 50 acute cardiac failures, 27 myocardial infarctions and 4 aortic ruptures. As a sociomedical background, it was shown that two-thirds of them were working for long hours such as more than 60 hr per week, more than 50 hr overtime per month, or more than half of their fixed holidays before the attack. Moreover, among the white-collar workers, these long working hours were accompanied with other stressful work issues such as career problems, excessive business trips, strident norms, and changes of work places; among the blue-collar workers, they were accompanied with those such as irregular midnight work, insufficient manpower and long-distance driving, etc. On the other hand, eighty-eight cases of them experienced several minor and sudden events including work-related emotional anxiety or excitement, rapid increase of workload, unexpected work trouble or environmental changes of work places anticipated at least within 24 hr directly before the attack. It was concluded that Karoshi, meaning fatal attacks by overload, was one of the work-related diseases mainly triggered by long working hours.