People working more than 48 hours a week more prone to binge drinking

A new study has revealed that people who work more than 48 hours per week are more prone to binge drinking or risky alcohol consumption than those who work standard weeks.

Risky alcohol consumption has been considered as more than 14 drinks per week for women and more than 21 drinks per week for men. It was believed to increase risk of adverse health problems, including liver diseases, cancer, stroke, coronary heart disease and mental disorders.

In a cross sectional analysis of 333,693 people in 14 countries, they found that longer working hours increased the likelihood of higher alcohol use by 11 percent. A prospective analysis found a similar increase in risk of 12 percent for onset of risky alcohol use in 100,602 people from 9 countries.

Individual participant data from 18 prospective studies showed that those who worked 49-54 hours and 55 hours per week or more were found to have an increased risk of 13 percent and 12 percent respectively of risky alcohol consumption compared with those who worked 35-40 hours per week.

The authors pointed out that no differences were seen between men and women or by age, socioeconomic status or region.

In order to protect the health and safety of the workforce, the European Union Working Time Directive (EUWT) ensures that workers in EU countries have the right to work no more than 48 hours a week, including overtime. But many people, for example well educated managers and professionals work much longer hours to achieve faster promotions, salary increases, and more control over work and employment.

The study is published in The BMJtoday.