THE WRONG CAREER CAN BE DEADLY

Rockport Institute has gathered more than 20 years of empirical data showing that the high stress levels of an ill-fitting career increase immune system disorders. Supporting medical studies have shown that a compromised immune system lowers your resistance to everything from heart disease to cancer.

• A major Finnish study (Kivimaki M, et al. Br Med J 325:857-60, 19 Oct 2002 ) found that those with stressful jobs had twice the risk of dying from coronary artery disease as or as did satisfied employees. The study involved 812 workers over a mean of 25.6 years.

• A study of 774 men published in Health Psychology found that hostility and pessimism were worse on the male's heart than smoking, drinking or obesity.

• A study published in the April 2001 issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology shows that immune function is weaker when people are in a bad mood. "This study adds to the evidence that a person's psychological state can influence their immune function", said Ed Diener, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of Illinois in Champaign .

• The U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reports job stress-related disorders are fast becoming the most prevalent reason for worker disability.

• Forty percent of worker turnover is due to job stress. Xerox estimates it costs $1 million to $1.5 million to replace a top executive. For lower level employees, it costs $2,000 dollars to $13,000 dollars per person.

• A 1992 UN report called job stress "The 20th Century Epidemic." The World Health Organization called job stress a "Worldwide Epidemic."

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that "neurotic reaction to stress" is the fourth most disabling workplace injury.

• According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 25% of those surveyed said their job was the single greatest cause of stress in their life.

• Published in the British Medical Journal, Feb. 22, 1997 , two studies showed that job stress increases the chances of coronary heart disease; job control and pressure were tested.

• Research shows that emotional distress creates susceptibility to physical illness. Exam stress increases susceptibility to viral infection. Stress from lack of control in the workplace or from life events creates susceptibility to cardiovascular disease. Animal studies reviewed by Wilkinson and Brunner provide supporting evidence that emotional distress can lead to physical illness by affecting the immune response.

References
Just a few are included here.

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Biondi, M. & Annino, L.G. (1997). Psychological stress, neuroimmunemodulation and susceptibility to infectious diseases in animal and man: A review. Psychother Psychosom, 66(1), 3-26.

Bittman, B. (2000). Psychoneuroimmunology of laughter and music. Paper presented at the 11th annual clinical meeting of the AAPM Sept 21, 2000 .

Braun S, Hollander R. A study of job stress among women and men in the Federal Republic of Germany. Health Education Research 1987; 2:45 -51.

Brunner E. Stress and the biology of inequality. BMJ 1997; 314: 1472-1475

Cohen S, Tyrrell DAJ, Smith AP. Psychological stress and susceptibility to the common cold. N Engl J Med 1991; 325: 606-612

Glaser, R. (1996). The effects of stress on the immune system:

Implications for healthy. Summary of presentation on Dec 17, Science Writers Briefings, OBSSR and APAc.

Hall EM, Johnson JV, Tsou T-S. Women, occupation, and risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Occupational Medicine: State of the Art Reviews 1993;8:709-19.

Hlatky MA, Lam LC, Lee KL, Clapp-Channing NE, Williams RB, Pryor DB, Califf RM, Mark DB. Job strain and the prevalence and outcome of coronary artery disease. Circulation 1995;92:327-333.

Johansson G, Johnson JV, Hall EM. Smoking and sedentary behavior as related to work organization. Soc Sci Med 1991;32:837-846.

Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K., Page, G.G., Marucha, P.T., MacCallum, R.C. & Glaser, R. (1998). Psychological influences on surgical recovery; perspectives from psychoneuroimmunology. Am Psychol, 53(11), 11209-18.

Marmot M, Davey Smith G, Stansfield S, Patel C, North F, Head J, et al. Health inequalities among British civil servants: the Whitehall II study. Lancet 1991; 337: 1387-1393

Martin, P. (1998). The Healing Mind: The vital links between brain and behavior, immunity and disease. New York : St. Martin ’s Press.

Paige, G.G. & Ben-Eliyahu, S. (1997). The immune-suppressive nature of pain. Semin Oncol Nurs, 13(1), 10-5.

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Sali, A. (1997). Psychoneuroimmunology: Fact or fiction. J Fam Physician, 26(11), 1291-4, 1296-9.

Schnall PL , Landsbergis PA, Baker D. Job strain and cardiovascular disease. Annual Review of Public Health 1994;15:381-411

Segerstrom, S. (1998). Optimistic outlook may protect immune system from stress. J of Pers and Soc Psych, 74.

Siegel, B. (1998). Love, medicine and miracles. New York : Harper and Row.

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Wilkinson RG. Unhealthy societies: the afflictions of inequality. London : Routledge , 1996.