In the News: Long Work Hours & Type 2 Diabetes

For my second installment of In the News, I decided to choose a different path in terms of healthcare.  Instead of focusing on the athletic and patient population, the following research focuses on the work population, more specifically, athletic training.  A recent study, found in Medical News Today, concluded that long hours combined with a low-salary in jobs have been linked to a 30% increase in type 2 diabetes among working professionals. Researchers believe that long working hours can cause stress, unhealthy lifestyles, depressive symptoms, and disturbed sleep.  These results can contribute to the development of diabetes.  While Athletic Training wasn’t one of the jobs listed in the study, it very much fits into the demographic of long hours and low income.

Athletic trainers don’t necessarily earn a low-income, but compared to the 50-60+ hours that they do put in, the salary doesn’t add up.  With an increase in work hours, there is a decrease in sleep and physical activity.  The lack of sleep as well as physical exercise has been seen far too often in athletic training.  These two examples can predispose an individual to type 2 diabetes.  According to Mika Kivimaki, the professor who conducted this study, “although working long hours in unlikely to increase diabetes risk in everyone, health professionals should be aware that it is associated with a significantly increased risk in people doing low socioeconomic status jobs.”

I believe that this study should be eye-opening to athletic trainers.  Maintaining a healthy lifestyle for ourselves should be a top priority.  There is always enough time to perform 10-15 minutes of physical activity a day, no matter how busy an individual is.  Whether it's walking from field to field instead of taking a cart, or going on a light jog on a lunch break, being physically fit is important in staying healthy.  Stress is another factor that has been prevalent in this profession and can be linked to type 2 diabetes.  Athletic trainers must learn to deal with problems in a calm demeanor. 

While it may be impossible to change work hours and your salary, our health can be positively manipulated with the right amount of effort.