Managerial leadership and ischaemic heart disease among employees: the Swedish WOLF study
2009

Managerial Leadership and Heart Disease Risk

Sample size: 3122 publication 10 minutes Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Anna Nyberg, Lars Alfredsson, Tom Theorell, Håkan Westerlund, Jussi Vahtera, Markku Kivimäki

Primary Institution: Karolinska Institute

Hypothesis

Is there an association between managerial leadership and ischaemic heart disease among employees?

Conclusion

Higher leadership scores are associated with a lower risk of ischaemic heart disease among employees.

Supporting Evidence

  • Higher leadership scores were associated with lower IHD risk.
  • The association was stronger the longer participants worked in the same workplace.
  • Adjustments for various risk factors did not significantly alter the association.

Takeaway

If bosses are good at leading and caring for their employees, it can help keep workers' hearts healthy.

Methodology

The study used data from a prospective cohort of 3122 male employees, assessing managerial leadership behaviors and tracking incident ischaemic heart disease over a mean follow-up of 9.7 years.

Potential Biases

Potential bias in self-reported data regarding leadership perceptions and health outcomes.

Limitations

The study was limited to male employees, which may affect the generalizability of the findings to women.

Participant Demographics

The participants were predominantly highly educated male employees aged 19-70 from various social classes.

Statistical Information

P-Value

0.005

Confidence Interval

0.61 to 0.96

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1136/oem.2008.039362

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