Job strain can raise risk of developing type 2 diabetes

(HealthDay)—Stress at work may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to research published in the August issue of Diabetes Care.

Solja T. Nyberg, of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in Helsinki, and colleagues conducted a pooled analysis of data for 124,808 men and women free of diabetes at baseline. The authors sought to assess the association between job strain and risk of incident type 2 diabetes.

The researchers found that, after multivariable adjustment, individuals with job strain, compared with those without job strain, had an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes (hazard ratio [HR], 1.15; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.06 to 1.25) for both men (HR, 1.19; 95 percent CI, 1.06 to 1.34) and women (HR, 1.13; 95 percent CI, 1.00 to 1.28). Stratified analysis showed that job strain was associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes among those with healthy and unhealthy lifestyle habits.

"In conclusion, we show a modest but robust association between job strain and the development of type 2 diabetes irrespective of lifestyle risk factors such as obesity and physical inactivity," the authors write.

Two study authors have received income for other work related to job stress.