Long working hours and mortality outcomes: A systematic review with outcome-specific evidence synthesis.

Xuewei Shen, Dexiang Zhu, Yingping Xiang, Juntao He, Ruipeng Wu, Yeen Huang

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in iScience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Xuewei ShenSchool of Public Health and Management, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.

Dexiang ZhuOccupational Disease Surveillance and Risk Assessment Institute, Shenzhen Prevention and Treatment Center for Occupational Diseases, Shenzhen, China.

Yingping XiangOccupational Hazard Assessment Institute, Shenzhen Prevention and Treatment Center for Occupational Diseases, Shenzhen, China.

Juntao HePhysical and Chemical Testing Institute, Shenzhen Prevention and Treatment Center for Occupational Diseases, Shenzhen, China.

Ruipeng WuKey Laboratory for Molecular Genetic Mechanisms and Intervention Research on High Altitude Disease of Tibet Autonomous Region, School of Medicine, Xizang Minzu University, Xianyang, China.

Yeen HuangSchool of Basic Medical Sciences, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Long working hours are a major occupational health concern, but whether their associations differ across mortality outcomes remains unclear. We searched six databases from inception to January 31, 2026 and conducted a systematic review with outcome-specific evidence synthesis of longitudinal studies. Seven original cohort studies were included. Long working hours, commonly defined as 55 or more hours per week, were associated with higher cardiovascular mortality, whereas the pooled association with all-cause mortality was not statistically significant. The only eligible prospective cohort study suggested increased suicide mortality at 45-52 and more than 52 h per week, while no significant association was observed for accident mortality. These findings indicate that mortality associations of long working hours are outcome specific and highlight the need for prospective studies with standardized exposure definitions and clearer classification of cause-specific mortality.

Indexed as

Cardiovascular medicineHealth sciencesInternal medicineMedical specialtyMedicinePatient social contextWorking condition

Identifiers

PMID42291227

DOI10.1016/j.isci.2026.116294

PMCPMC13259624

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.