It's no more that men do most of the working, while the women stay at home. In fact, if anything, women not just do all the housework but they also hold positions in various companies and work full-time jobs. However, a new study states that women who work for 45 hours or more a week may be associated with nearly 70 per cent increased risk of diabetes as compared to men or women who work for 30 to 40 hours a week.
While this is an observational study, the researchers noted, that the reason may be because women might work longer hours when all the household chores and family responsibilities are taken into account, the researchers said. Long working hours might also prompt a chronic stress response in the body, thus increasing the risk of hormonal abnormalities and insulin resistance. Interestingly, these long hours at work aren't associated with a heightened risk of disease among men.
"Considering the rapid and substantial increase of diabetes prevalence worldwide, identifying modifiable risk factors such as long work hours is of major importance to improve prevention and orient policy making, as it could prevent numerous cases of diabetes and diabetes-related chronic diseases," said the team including Mahee Gilbert-Ouimet from the Research Center of the Quebec University Hospital, Laval University, in Canada.
The results of this study showed that overworking among women was associated with 63 per cent of a higher risk of diabetes among women whereas incidence of diabetes in men was found mainly among older age groups and those who were obese.
This study has been published in the journal, BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care.
