In 2014, a US survey found that Americans are working much harder than they used to..

Nearly 4 out of 10 people who work full-time in this country worked more than 50 hours a week last year.

A new study shows that such people are more likely to abuse alcohol, putting themselves at risk of cirrhosis of the liver, mental disorders and heart disease..

A team of researchers led by Marianna Virtanen from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Medicine in Helsinki published this curious finding in the British Medical Journal..

This is not the first scientific study that has examined the negative impact of overtime on human health.. Last September, Medical News Today reported that people who work 61-70 hours a week have a 42% higher risk of coronary artery disease.. Another study showed that low-paid work of 55 hours a week or more is an additional risk of type 2 diabetes..

Although numerous studies have focused on the impact of work on the risk of various diseases, Virtanen and her colleagues did not find enough information on the relationship of working hours with the risk of alcohol abuse.. They note that there are “relatively few studies that have not been robust enough” on the subject.. Therefore, in their latest work, which will be discussed, scientists conducted the first systematic analysis of the relationship between the number of working hours and alcohol consumption..

Extra working hours increase the risk of alcohol abuse by 13%.

Finnish scientists conducted a cross-sectional analysis of studies that included a total of 333,693 people from 14 countries, as well as a prospective analysis of studies that included 100,602 adults from 9 countries.

The researchers called excess alcohol consumption an excess of 21 drinks per week for men or 14 drinks per week for women.. A cross-sectional analysis showed that with a long work week, the likelihood of alcohol abuse increased by an average of 11%, and a prospective analysis gave an even higher result - 12%.

After analyzing individual data on participants in 18 prospective studies, scientists concluded that people who work 49-54 hours a week are 13% more likely to abuse alcohol compared to those who work 35-40 hours.. But those who work more than 55 hours a week have green snake problems only 12% more often than this group..

These results remained significant after gender, age, region of residence, and socioeconomic status of study participants were introduced into the analysis.. Virtanen and her colleagues say they may have been influenced by job and personality traits..

“There is a point of view that drinking alcohol relieves stress, which is caused by working conditions and stress.. Overwork and personality traits such as lack of self-control create ideal conditions for alcohol abuse,” the scientists write..

Findings support recommendations to limit working hours.

The European Union today advises member states to limit working hours to 48 hours a week, and results show that this is a reasonable limit.. But the authors agree that many professionals still choose jobs with long hours—predominantly well-educated people with high expectations..

“Individuals who exceed the specified hours are more likely to abuse alcohol to relax, putting their health at additional risk.. Alcohol abuse can have a serious impact on workers – it leads to withdrawal symptoms, job inefficiency, poor productivity, poor decision making, communication problems with customers and workplace injuries,” scientists warn..

medbe. en.