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Women Who Work Long Hours Are More Likely To Develop Diabetes

BOSTON (CBS) - A warning for ladies who burn the midnight oil. A new study finds that women who work long hours are more likely to develop diabetes.

Canadian researchers studied more than 7,000 adults over 12 years. They found that women who consistently worked at least 45 hours a week had a 63-percent higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who worked 35 to 40 hours a week.

It is unclear why but they say long hours may lead to chronic stress in the body, triggering the release of hormones that raise blood sugar levels.

Interestingly, the researchers did not find the same association between long work hours and type 2 diabetes in men. One theory is that women who work more hours a week tend to have lower paying jobs than men. And women also tend to spend additional time doing unpaid work like household chores.

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