Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Korea.
Scand J Work Environ Health. 2020 Sep 1;46(5):480-487. doi: 10.5271/sjweh.3890. Epub 2020 Feb 25.
Objectives The deleterious health effects of long working hours have been previously investigated, but there is a dearth of studies on mortality resulting from accidents or suicide. This prospective study aims to examine the association between working hours and external-cause mortality (accidents and suicide) in Korea, a country with some of the longest working hours in the world. Methods Employed workers (N=14 484) participating in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) were matched with the Korea National Statistical Office's death registry from 2007-2016 (person-years = 81 927.5 years, mean weighted follow-up duration = 5.7 years). Hazard ratios (HR) for accident (N=25) and suicide (N=27) mortality were estimated according to weekly working hours, with 35-44 hours per week as the reference. Results Individuals working 45-52 hours per week had higher risk of total external cause mortality compared to those working 35-44 hours per week [HR 2.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.22-6.40], adjusting for sex, age, household income, education, occupation, and depressive symptoms. Among the external causes of death, suicide risk was higher (HR 3.89, 95% CI 1.06-14.29) for working 45-52 hours per week compared to working 35-44 hours per week. Working >52 hours per week also showed increased risk for suicide (HR 3.74, 95% CI 1.03-13.64). No statistically significant associations were found for accident mortality. Conclusions Long working hours are associated with higher suicide mortality rates in Korea.
先前已有研究调查了长时间工作对健康的有害影响，但关于因事故或自杀导致的死亡率与工作时间之间的关系研究甚少。本前瞻性研究旨在探讨韩国（世界上工作时间最长的国家之一）工作时间与外部原因死亡率（事故和自杀）之间的关系。
参与韩国国家健康和营养检查调查（KNHANES）的在职人员（N=14484）与韩国国家统计局的死亡登记处相匹配，随访时间从 2007 年至 2016 年（人年=81927.5 年，平均加权随访时间=5.7 年）。根据每周工作时间，将每周工作 35-44 小时设为参考，计算事故（N=25）和自杀（N=27）死亡率的危险比（HR）。
与每周工作 35-44 小时相比，每周工作 45-52 小时的个体总外部原因死亡率更高[HR 2.79，95%置信区间（CI）1.22-6.40]，调整了性别、年龄、家庭收入、教育程度、职业和抑郁症状等因素。在死亡的外部原因中，每周工作 45-52 小时与每周工作 35-44 小时相比，自杀风险更高（HR 3.89，95% CI 1.06-14.29）。每周工作时间>52 小时与自杀风险增加相关（HR 3.74，95% CI 1.03-13.64）。但未发现事故死亡率存在统计学显著相关性。
在韩国，长时间工作与更高的自杀死亡率有关。
