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Improving Shift Workers Health: What Is the Role of Nutrition?

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition and Public Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2023) | Viewed by 9251

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
1. Department of Health, Life Cycles and Society, School of Public Health, University of São Paulo, Sao Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
2. Department of Psychology, Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, 104 05 Stockholm, Sweden
Interests: circadian rhythms; sleep; actigraphy; sleep disorders and sleep medicine; OSA; sleep disorders; polysomnography; sleep apnea; light; sleep, memory and learning

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the last several decades, many studies on shift work have been carried out in both the field and the laboratory. In general, changes in habits and behaviors, as well as physiological changes, are observed in shift workers due to the inversion of light–dark cycle imposed by the work schedule, the suppression of melatonin production, and lifestyle changes.

This Special Issue is mainly dedicated to studies of interventions related to the use of food consumption aimed at mitigating such changes, but other interventions such as melatonin administration, napping, and exercise practice may also be included. Moreover, reviews on the topic are welcome.

In addition, studies on schedules and dietary suggestions for shift and night workers to address potential issues in this area will be included.

Prof. Dr. Claudia Roberta De Castro Moreno
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • melatonin
  • exercise
  • shift work
  • sleep
  • food consumption

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 702 KiB  
Article
“Mars Bar and a Tin of Red Bull Kept Me and My Patients Alive”: Exploring Barriers to Healthy Eating through Facebook Comments of Shiftworkers
by Emma McIntosh, Sally A. Ferguson, Jillian Dorrian, Alison M. Coates, Gloria Leung and Charlotte C. Gupta
Nutrients 2023, 15(4), 959; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15040959 - 15 Feb 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2640
Abstract
The negative impact of an unhealthy diet on the shiftworker population has been well-documented. However, little evidence exists on the underlying reasons for unhealthy eating behaviours and the existing barriers to healthy eating withinshiftwork environments. This qualitative study investigated the dietary behaviours reported [...] Read more.
The negative impact of an unhealthy diet on the shiftworker population has been well-documented. However, little evidence exists on the underlying reasons for unhealthy eating behaviours and the existing barriers to healthy eating withinshiftwork environments. This qualitative study investigated the dietary behaviours reported by shiftworkers through Facebook comments. Comments were collected if they were on public shiftworker-relevant posts pertaining to dietary news or dietary information on Facebook and were posted by self-identified shiftworkers, relatives of shiftworkers, or partners of shiftworkers. A thematic analysis of the 144 comments collected generated four categories that can be used to understand the motivations for eating behaviour on-shift: what shiftworkers eat, where food is sourced from, when food is eaten, and why certain foods are chosen. Results reveal motivations, attitudes, and both internal and external barriers to healthy eating behaviours, as well as similarities and differences across shiftwork industries. Recommendations for future research include further explorations on the link between scheduled eating (e.g., time-restricted eating) and shiftwork, the impact of a rotating shift arrangements on dietary health behaviours, and the impact of interpersonal relationships on shiftworker dietary choices. Understanding these motivations will inform strategies to promote healthy eating and help understand barriers for shiftworkers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Improving Shift Workers Health: What Is the Role of Nutrition?)
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17 pages, 1049 KiB  
Article
Cardiometabolic Biomarkers and Habitual Caffeine Consumption Associate with the Adverse Ambulatory Blood Pressure Response to Strenuous Physical Exertion among Firefighters
by Rachel S. Berkowsky, Amanda L. Zaleski, Beth A. Taylor, Ming-Hui Chen, Kim M. Gans, Yin Wu, Paul M. Parducci, Yiming Zhang, Antonio B. Fernandez and Linda S. Pescatello
Nutrients 2022, 14(19), 4025; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14194025 - 28 Sep 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2695
Abstract
Caffeine has beneficial effects on firefighter job performance reducing fatigue and improving psychomotor vigilance. However, excessive caffeine intake may raise blood pressure (BP) following a bout of acute exercise among adults with elevated BP. The influence of caffeine intake on the ambulatory BP [...] Read more.
Caffeine has beneficial effects on firefighter job performance reducing fatigue and improving psychomotor vigilance. However, excessive caffeine intake may raise blood pressure (BP) following a bout of acute exercise among adults with elevated BP. The influence of caffeine intake on the ambulatory BP (ABP) response to vigorous physical exertion among firefighters has not been studied. In this sub-study we conducted secondary statistical analyses from a larger clinical trial (NCT04514354) that included examining the influence of habitual caffeine intake, and cardiometabolic biomarkers shown to influence BP, on the ABP response following a bout of sudden vigorous exertion over 19 h among firefighters. Previously, we found high amounts of calcium and sodium intake raised BP following a bout of acute exercise among adults with elevated BP. Thus, other secondary aims were to examine the influence of habitual calcium and sodium intake, and cardiometabolic biomarkers have shown to influence BP, on the ABP response following sudden vigorous exertion over 19 h among firefighters. Firefighters (n = 15) completed a Food-Frequency Questionnaire assessing habitual dietary intake over the past year. They randomly completed a maximal graded exercise stress test (GEST) and non-exercise CONTROL on separate non-workdays leaving the laboratory wearing an ABP monitor for 19 h. Prior to and immediately after the GEST, fasting venous blood was collected to measure lipid-lipoproteins, c-reactive protein, and blood glucose. Height and weight were taken to calculate body mass index. Repeated measures ANCOVA tested if the ABP response differed after GEST vs. CONTROL. Linear mixed models examined the relationships among caffeine, calcium, sodium, cardiometabolic biomarkers, and the ABP response following GEST vs. CONTROL. Firefighters were middle-aged (40.2 ± 9.5 year), overweight (29.0 ± 3.9 kg/m2) men with elevated BP (124.1 ± 10.3/79.6 ± 11.5 mmHg) who consumed 542.0 ± 348.9 mg of caffeine/day, about ~50% more than the dietary reference intake. Unexpectedly, systolic ABP was higher by 18.0 ± 6.7 mmHg and diastolic ABP by 9.1 ± 5.4 mmHg (ps < 0.01) over 19 h following GEST vs. CONTROL. We found 24% of the variance in the adverse ABP response to maximal physical exertion was explained by caffeine intake, and when combined with c-reactive protein, non-high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, body mass index, blood glucose, and resting heart rate, up to 74% of the variability in the ABP response was explained. Additionally, we found calcium (ps < 0.001) and sodium (p < 0.0001) intake each explained up to 24% of the ABP response. Further investigation is needed in a larger, more diverse sample of firefighters to better establish how caffeine contributes to the adverse BP response to strenuous physical exertion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Improving Shift Workers Health: What Is the Role of Nutrition?)
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12 pages, 1634 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Exogenous Melatonin on Eating Habits of Female Night Workers with Excessive Weight
by Luciana Fidalgo Ramos Nogueira, Cibele Aparecida Crispim, José Cipolla-Neto, Claudia Roberta de Castro Moreno and Elaine Cristina Marqueze
Nutrients 2022, 14(16), 3420; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14163420 - 19 Aug 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3032
Abstract
Background and Aims: Melatonin is a pineal hormone that plays an important role as an endogenous synchronizer of circadian rhythms and energy metabolism. As this circadian component has been closely related to eating behavior, an important question on this topic would be whether [...] Read more.
Background and Aims: Melatonin is a pineal hormone that plays an important role as an endogenous synchronizer of circadian rhythms and energy metabolism. As this circadian component has been closely related to eating behavior, an important question on this topic would be whether melatonin administration could influence eating habits. However, this topic has been rarely studied in the literature in individuals with excessive weight and chronic circadian misalignment, such as shift workers. Therefore, the present study aims to evaluate the effects of exogenous melatonin administration on the quali/quantitative aspects and temporal distribution of food intake in female night workers with excessive weight (overweight and obesity). An additional aim is to evaluate the association of the referred outcomes with circadian misalignment and chronotype. Methods: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover clinical trial was conducted with 27 female nursing professionals with excessive weight who worked permanent night shifts. The protocol was implemented under real-life conditions for 24 weeks, in two randomly allocated conditions (12 weeks of melatonin and 12 weeks of placebo). The quali/quantitative aspects of food intake (NOVA classification, total energy intake and the proportion of calories from macronutrients) and meal timing were assessed using food diaries. Timing for every meal recorded in the diaries was assessed to evaluate the temporal distribution of food intake. Generalized estimating equations were performed for each dependent variable. Results: No significant modifications in total energy intake, macronutrient distribution, types of foods consumed, and meal timing were observed after melatonin administration. Different levels of circadian misalignment and chronotype did not interfere with these results. Conclusion: Eating habits of female night workers with excessive weight remained unchanged after melatonin administration, and no association of these results with circadian misalignment and chronotype was found. These results suggest that the metabolic effects of melatonin may occur independently of food intake. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Improving Shift Workers Health: What Is the Role of Nutrition?)
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