Housewives 'more likely to suffer from heart disease than working women'

London, Aug 26 (ANI): Housewives are at an increased risk of suffering from heart disease and strokes as compared to women who go to work, a new study has shown.

And experts blame the more sedentary lifestyles of ladies who stay at home, as they are more likely to smoke, be less educated, drink more, be overweight and suffer from depression - all contributory factors.

Now, in the latest study, researchers from the University of North Carolina studied 7,000 women aged 45 to 64 to see if there was a link between employment status, coronary heart diseases and strokes.

From analyses, they found that women employed outside the home had a lower risk. For heart disease, this link was stronger among women who did not have a high school education, reports The Daily Express.

The authors said: "One theory suggests that women with more roles, for example, family and employee roles, may have a better health profile than women with fewer roles, although the strength of this association may vary as the result of different levels of job demands and job control.

"Because of the fact that many women assume multiple roles as homemakers, primary caretakers for children and elderly parents, in addition to being employed outside of the home, the investigation of the health-employment relationship among women is complex."

In the research, housewives were found to have a lower education level than employed women.

The study has been published in the journal Annals of Epidemiology. (ANI)