Unfair
and unreasonable bosses can increase their employees' blood pressure
and raise the risk of a heart attack or stroke, British doctors
said Tuesday.
A study by researchers at Buckinghamshire Chilterns University
College in England found that the blood pressure of healthcare
assistants was higher when they were supervised by someone they
considered unreasonable.
"An unfavorably perceived supervisor is a potent workplace
stressor, which might have a clinically significant impact on
supervisees' cardiovascular functioning," Dr Nadia Wager
said in a report in the journal Occupational and Environmental
Medicine.
Cardiovascular disease kills an estimated 16.6 million people,
or one-third of total global deaths, each year, according to the
World Health Organization. High blood pressure, raised cholesterol
levels, lack of exercise, smoking, excessive weight and a poor
diet are leading risk factors.
(Agencies)
Updated: 2003-06-30 01:00