Men with stressful jobs may already be at risk of early artery disease by their early 30s, a new study suggests.

Researchers in Finland found that among the more than 1,000 young adults they studied, men who reported high levels of job strain were more likely than their peers to show signs of early artery narrowing. The same was not true of young women, however.

A number of studies have found a link between job strain and heart disease, but it's not clear that work demands are the cause of the higher risk.

The new findings, published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, point to a possible connection between job strain and the beginnings of atherosclerosis, the build-up of plaque in the arteries that eventually impairs blood flow and can lead to a heart attack or stroke.

The study included 1,020 men and women taking part in an ongoing project looking at cardiovascular risk factors in young adults. Participants, who were 32 years old, on average, answered questionnaires about their work conditions and underwent ultrasound scans of the carotid arteries in the neck.

The researchers defined high job strain as work that puts high demands on employees but offers them little independence or leeway in how to accomplish their tasks. Past studies have suggested that such jobs can be particularly stressful.

READ: Job strain may be hard on young men's arteries

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