Women in occupations with low power at higher risk of stroke

Women with low influence at work are at higher risk of stroke than other women. Among men, the link between power and stroke weak. According to a study by the Centre for Health Equity Studies (CHESS), Stockholm University which examined the link between the psychosocial work environment and the risk of stroke.

The analyzers are based on population studies from the database Swedish Work and Mortality Data Base (HSIA) for individuals born between 1930 and 1965. They showed that low influence at work had a significantly associated with stroke mortality among women but not among men.

The importance of low power for stroke mortality was also when the analyzes were controlled for marital status, education level and occupation-based social class. Class-specific analyzes showed that the effect of impact on stroke mortality is similar in most occupational classes among women but not among men.

In analyzes of the risk of stroke, regardless of the outcome is fatal or not, and influence of the work was the risk highest in occupations with the lowest influence. The relationship varied for different types of stroke (cerebral hemorrhage or cerebral infarction), and gender. The relative risk of stroke was highest among women in occupations with the lowest influence. For men in occupations with low power, there was instead a slightly increased risk of cerebral infarction.