Job stress ups diabetes risk

Work-related stress can significantly increase the risk of developing diabetes, says a study.

Individuals who are under a high level of pressure at work and at the same time perceive little control over the activities they perform face an about 45 percent higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, the findings showed.

"In view of the huge health implications of stress-related disorders, preventive measures to prevent common diseases such as diabetes should therefore also begin at this point," said professor Karl-Heinz Ladwig from Helmholtz Zentrum MAnchen, German Research Center for Environmental Health.

Roughly one in five people in employment are affected by high levels of mental stress at work.

The scientists examined data prospectively collected from more than 5,300 employed individuals aged between 29 and 66.

At the beginning of the study, none of the participants had diabetes, while in the post-observation period, which covered an average of 13 years, almost 300 of them were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

The increase of risk in work-related stress was identified independently of classic risk factors such as obesity, age or gender.

The findings appeared in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.