News Release

Non-traditional roles may boost risk of heart disease and death

American Heart Association meeting report

Peer-Reviewed Publication

American Heart Association

HONOLULU, April 24 – Househusbands and others whose work or social roles are outside the norm suffer more coronary heart disease and death from all causes, according to a new study presented today at the American Heart Association’s Asia Pacific Scientific Forum.

The study was conducted to determine if occupational stress/strain is related to heart attack and death. Researchers did not find any evidence that job/occupational strain (defined as high job demands combined with low job control) is associated with death or coronary heart disease but they did find a link between heart disease and jobs/social roles that are non-traditional.

“These findings may indicate that people who perform work or social roles incongruent with what is socially expected suffer greater heart disease and death. Perhaps those men and women on the cutting edge of social norms experience negative health consequences,” says Elaine D. Eaker, Sc.D., of Eaker Epidemiology Enterprises, LLC, in Chili, Wis., the principal investigator on this ancillary study from the Framingham Offspring Study.

According to Eaker, previous research shows that occupational strain might be related to the development of heart disease. So they included an assessment of occupational characteristics, including job strain, in the Framingham Offspring Study surveys.

The Framingham Offspring Study includes individuals who are descendents of participants in the federal government’s Framingham Heart Study begun in 1948, which follows a representative sample of 5,209 adult residents and their offspring in Framingham, Mass. Participants included 1,769 men and 1,913 women, ages 18 to 77 years, who completed psychological surveys during the third examination of the Framingham Offspring Study and were followed for 10 years for incidence of coronary heart disease and death.

Researchers used the Karasek’s Job Demand Control model to define occupational stress/strain. The model has been widely tested in research and combines epidemiological views on the relationship between work demands and health complaints with studies on job satisfaction and motivation.

For analysis, psychosocial variables considered included income, education, number of children, marital status, employment and housewife/husband status, work changes, promotions, bringing work home, housework strain and achieving desired income.

They found that men who considered themselves househusbands most of their adult years had an 82 percent higher 10-year death rate compared to their counterparts who worked outside the home. The study controlled for age, systolic blood pressure, the ratio of total cholesterol/high density lipoprotein cholesterol, body mass index, smoking and diabetes.

Researchers also found that men with lower incomes and a lower educational level had an increased risk of heart disease and death. Men with personal incomes of less than $10,000 per year had twice the risk of death compared to men with incomes of $50,000 or more per year. Men in jobs with high prestige had a significantly lower risk of heart disease and death. The highest prestige jobs were defined as physicians, lawyers, teachers, architects and engineers.

Contrary to what was found among men in high prestige occupations, researchers found that women in job positions characterized by high decision authority and high job demands were at almost three times the risk of developing heart disease compared to women in positions with low authority and high demands. The associations found in these women were not due to household responsibilities, number of children, anxiety, tension, depression, hostility or anger.

The study also found that men who were widowed, divorced or separated had almost twice the risk of death compared to married men.

“As social roles and norms change with time, it’s hoped the harmful effects of having jobs or social roles that are considered outside the norm will be diminished,” Eaker says.

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Co-authors are: Lisa Sullivan, Ph.D.; Margaret Kelly-Hayes, Ed.D.; Emelia J. Benjamin, M.D., Sc.M., and Ralph B. D'Agostino, Ph.D.

CONTACT:
Carole Bullock or Karen Astle
AHA News Media Relations
Hawaii Convention Center
Honolulu, Hawaii
Ph. 808-792-6515

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