Software professionals more prone to hypertension: study

‘Go on long walks, take fat-free food and engage in activities that are stress busters’

Stress at workplace is a contributing factor for people developing hypertension. As hypertension can lead to multiple complications, it is necessary that precautions are taken to avoid getting it. But the fact is that in India, there is a steep increase in the number of people suffering from hypertension.

At least that is what a recent study by the Public Health Foundation of India has found. The study titled ‘Job stress and hypertension in young software professionals in India’, that was published in a medical journal, has reiterated the point that there is indeed truth in the fact that stress at workplace and hypertension are related.

Data for the study was taken from 1,071 software professionals. Analysis of the data revealed that 31 per cent of the 1,071 software professionals were suffering from hypertension. And, 45.7 per cent of them showed signs of pre-hypertension, in other words were showing all signs that they would get hypertension in future.

While some of the symptoms of hypertension include high blood pressure, headache, dizziness, and problems with vision, there are many cases where the patient shows no symptoms but still has hypertension.

Associate Professor at the Public Health Foundation of India Giridhara R. Babu, who conducted the study, says that the dimensions of workplace autonomy and environment are associated with hypertension.

As hypertension can lead to several other ailments, it is necessary that those diagnosed with it should take medical treatment, and those on the borderline should take precautions to ensure that they do not become patients of hypertension. As it is a lifestyle disease, hypertension can be managed by going on long walks, taking fat-free food and engaging in activities that are stress busters.

According to Dr. Giridhara R. Babu, “understanding the prevalence of job stress and other risk factors can help prevent morbidity related complications. Identification of risk profiles in the IT engineers can guide worksite interventions to prevent debilitating conditions thereby improving their productivity” as well.

By all accounts, Indians are at a higher risk of developing hypertension. People here, the study reveals, are afflicted by it at least a decade earlier than those in the West.