How stress can increase women’s risk of coronary heart disease

(Jennifer Huizen/ Medical News Today) — The relationship between psychosocial stress and CHD seems to be stronger in women than in men. It may also vary depending on the type of stress or stressor.

However, it is unclear how different types of psychosocial stress impact women’s risk of developing CHD.

For this reason, a research team from Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health in Philadelphia, PA, decided to investigate the association of psychosocial stressors — including job strain, stressful life events, and social strain — with the incidence of CHD in women.

They combed through the data collected as part of the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study (WHIOS), to assess the independent and combined impact of stressful life events, social relationships, and paid work.

Their findings, which appear in the Journal of the American Heart Association, indicate that work and social strain seem to pack a double punch, increasing women’s risk of developing CHD by 21%. (…)

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