Hypertension
Job stress does not raise blood pressure
By IANS
May 7, 2006 - 6:28:00 PM

Hassles at work do not shoot up blood pressure, say scientists, dismissing notions that job stress lead to high blood pressure and hypertension.

Samuel J. Mann, professor of clinical medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, reviewed dozens of studies on the subject and found that the evidence that workplace stress has a lasting effect on blood pressure is very weak and very inconsistent, reported Newswise wire.

"When you realise that doctors may be advising patients to quit or change jobs to help them avoid hypertension, it's clear that this misconception can have life-altering effects," Mann points out.

In his review, Mann analysed data from 48 studies on job stress and blood pressure, all published in English-language journals from 1982 to 2004.

Overall, more than 100,000 people were included in the trials.

Mann found that most studies actually found no relationship between job stress and blood pressure, and that findings were very weak in most of the studies that did report a relationship.

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