High work stress linked to significant type 2 diabetes risk

Stress at work may drastically increase your risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a new study published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.
The German research found workplace stress to be a significant risk factor for type 2 diabetes, regardless of whether a person is overweight or not.
Professor Karl-Heinz Ladwig, of the Institute of Epidemiology in Munich, and colleagues followed more than 5,300 men and women between the ages of 29 and 66. All of the subjects were in full-time employment and free of diabetes at the outset.
But over the next 12 years, nearly 300 previously healthy individuals were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
After polling volunteers on their stress levels at work and family medical history, and taking body mass index (BMI) measurements, the researchers found the risk of developing type 2 diabetes was some 45% higher for those under the most pressure at work – defined as being faced with huge demands but having little say in how things are done).
Even among workers who were not overweight, or with a relatively healthy BMI, the results indicated high job strain to still be a significant risk factor.
“According to our data, roughly 1 in 5 people in employment is affected by high levels of stress at work,” Prof Karl-Heinz Ladwig said.
“We don’t mean normal job stress but rather the situation in which the individuals concerned rate the demands made upon them as very high and at the same time have little scope for manoeuvre or decision-making.”
Commenting on the findings, Dr Alasdair Ranki, director of research at Diabetes UK, said: “A lot of these factors have been shown to be associated with type 2, but it can be hard to tell whether that is through a direct effect on our bodies, or whether these factors make us less likely to look after our health in other ways.
“More research is needed to understand whether that is important and why.”