Unfair treatment at work raises the risk of heart disease

May 15 2007

According to researchers in Britain, people who feel that they are unfairly treated while at work, in the home and in the community, have a higher risk of developing heart disease.

The researchers at University College London have found in a new study that people who have a profound sense of injustice were 55% more likely to develop heart disease.

They reached this conclusion after studying 8,000 senior civil servants working for the British government and experts suggest a sense of unfairness engenders negative emotions which may prompt biochemical changes in the body.

The civil servants were asked how strongly, on a scale of one to six, they agreed with the statement: "I often have the feeling that I am being treated unfairly."

Their mental and physical health was then tracked for an average of almost 11 years and it was found that the more unfair treatment people reported, the greater their risk of suffering a heart attack or angina.

The results also showed that unfair treatment in other aspects of life was linked to increased risk of heart disease.

According to lead researcher Roberto de Vogli the key message is that fairness in society must be promoted but he says more research is needed to explore the link between unfairness and health.

Experts concede that being treated unfairly by society is a stress factor which could adversely affect health.