Working long hours is killing hundreds of thousands of people a year in a trend that may accelerate further due to the COVID19 pandemic, the World Health Organization said on Monday. In the first global study of the loss of life associated with longer working hours, the paper in the journal Environment International showed that 745,000 people died from stroke and heart disease associated with long working hours in 2016. That was an increase of nearly 30 percent from 2000. For access to live and exclusive video from CNBC subscribe to CNBC PRO: https://cnb.cx/2NGeIvi

Long working hours are killing hundreds of thousands of people around the world every year, according to the findings of a study by the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization.

In joint research by the global public health and employment bodies, the WHO and ILO estimated there were 745,000 deaths from stroke and ischemic heart disease in 2016, marking a 29% increase since 2000.

The study, published in the Environment International journal Monday, was a first global analysis of the loss of life and health associated with working long hours.

The WHO and ILO estimated that 398,000 people died from stroke and 347,000 from heart disease in 2016 as a result of having worked at least 55 hours a week. Between 2000 and 2016, the number of deaths from heart disease due to working long hours increased by 42%, and from stroke by 19%.

The study concluded that working 55 or more hours per week is associated with an estimated 35% higher risk of a stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from ischemic heart disease, compared with working 3540 hours a week. In 2016, 488 million people worldwide were exposed to long working hours of more than 55 hours a week, the WHO and ILO estimated.

The “workrelated disease burden” was found to be particularly significant in men (72% of deaths occurred among males), people living in the Western Pacific (in which the WHO includes China, South Korea, Australia and Japan among other countries) and Southeast Asia regions, and middle aged or older workers, the WHO said Monday.

“Most of the deaths recorded were among people dying aged 6079 years, who had worked for 55 hours or more per week between the ages of 45 and 74 years,” the organization added.

“With working long hours now known to be responsible for about onethird of the total estimated workrelated burden of disease, it is established as the risk factor with the largest occupational disease burden.”

The WHOILO study included analysis of 37 studies on ischemic heart disease and 22 studies on stroke as well as data from more than 2,300 surveys collected in 154 countries from 19702018.

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