Incidence of ischaemic heart disease in two cohorts of Belgian clerks.

A study during a five-year period has been conducted on the incidence of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) among two cohorts of Belgian employees who were free of IHD at entry. As regards the final outcome these incidences differ significantly. The chief difference between the two cohorts is their systolic blood pressure. These pressure differences may be attributed to differences in the level of work pressure. The increased work pressure in Cohort I might account, through stress, for the greater incidence of sudden death or myocardial infarction.