Search Results (45)

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. These conditions, characterized by multifactorial etiology, are associated with arterial stiffness, and adequate sleep serves as a preventive factor. Professionals engaged in night work are at an increased risk of premature vascular aging due to potential disruption of the sleep–wake cycle and sleep restriction. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between duration of exposure to night work and arterial stiffness in nursing professionals. A total of 63 nursing professionals working rotating shifts participated in the study. Arterial stiffness was measured using oscillometric pulse wave velocity, and sleep–wake patterns were monitored using actigraphy. Path analysis revealed no direct association between duration of night work exposure and arterial stiffness in the professionals studied. However, an increase of 1 standard deviation (SD) in social jet lag duration was significantly associated with a 0.212 SD increase in perceived stress (p = 0.047). Furthermore, an increase of 1 SD in social jet lag duration was significantly associated with a 0.093 SD increase in the highest pulse wave velocity (p = 0.034). Thus, an association was found between increased social jet lag and elevated pulse wave velocity, an independent predictor of higher cardiovascular risk. Full article

Background/Objectives: Shift work schedules and mental and physical workloads affect the sleep homeostasis of nurses, increasing the risk of occupational injuries. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep disturbances caused by shift schedules and the occurrence of needlestick and sharps injuries (NSIs) among nurses, considering significant worker and occupational factors. Methods: A total of 348 nurses from five hospitals of Santiago de Guayaquil, Ecuador, participated in this cross-sectional survey. Data on sociodemographic and occupational characteristics, work schedules, and NSI incidents during the previous six months were collected. Emotional status, sleepiness, and insomnia symptoms were assessed using validated questionnaires. Additionally, nurses with night shifts (fixed or rotating) were specifically assessed to estimate the relationship between NSIs and insomnia or sleepiness symptoms related to these types of shift work using logistic regression analyses. Results: Nurses whose schedule included night shifts showed a higher prevalence of NSIs than those with other shifts (33.2% vs. 29.0%; p < 0.05). High levels of depression, anxiety, and stress were associated with having had an NSI in the previous six months. Logistic regression showed that female sex (adjusted odds ratio, aOR 4.62, 95% CI: 1.65–12.97), less experience in the current clinical setting (aOR 3.12, 95% CI: 1.46–6.57), the use of psychotropic drugs (aOR 4.46, 95% CI: 1.51–13.17), and insomnia and sleepiness symptoms due to shift work (aOR 2.61, 95% CI: 1.15–5.91) increased NSI risk among nurses with night shifts. Conclusions: There is an acute need to explore the complex relationship between sleep troubles linked to shift work schedules, occupational factors, and the risk of occupational injuries and propose preventive strategies for enhancing nurses’ sleep health and workplace safety. Full article

Shift work, particularly in the auto industry, presents significant health challenges, notably in how it impacts cardiovascular health due to irregular work schedules and associated sleep disruptions. This prospective study evaluated 4683 workers from a single Romanian automotive enterprise to investigate the relationship between fixed shift work schedules and cardiovascular health outcomes. Our analysis focused on fixed-shift workers, excluding those on rotating shifts to reduce variability and enhance the clarity of the findings. The findings reveal that night shift workers are at a heightened risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) compared to their day shift counterparts. Night shift workers demonstrated a higher CVD incidence (4.3%) compared to day shift workers (2.6%), with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.68 (95% CI: 1.08 to 2.62, p = 0.021). This association remained significant after adjusting for potential confounders, with an adjusted OR of 1.74 (95% CI: 1.09 to 2.75, p = 0.019). Male night shift workers exhibited a significantly higher CVD incidence (4.5%) compared to male day shift workers (3.0%), with an OR of 1.75 (95% CI: 1.07 to 2.89, p = 0.026). Female night shift workers also showed a higher CVD incidence (3.4%) compared to female day shift workers (1.3%), although this was not statistically significant. These findings underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions and effective strategies to mitigate these risks and promote the cardiovascular health and overall well-being of shift workers in the auto industry. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of how non-traditional work schedules affect health and provides a basis for implementing protective measures in occupational settings. Full article

The concept of Circadian Syndrome (CircS) aims to emphasize the circadian disruptions underlying cardiometabolic conditions. Meal timing and shiftwork may disrupt circadian rhythms, increasing cardiometabolic risk. This study aimed to assess the associations of meal timing, meal skipping, and shiftwork with CircS in US adults and explore effect modifications by sociodemographic and lifestyle factors. CircS was defined using Metabolic Syndrome components in addition to short sleep and depression symptoms. Data from 10,486 participants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005–2016 were analyzed cross-sectionally. Mealtime was assessed by calculating the midpoint of intake between breakfast and dinner and dichotomizing it into favorable mealtime (between 12:30 and 13:15) and unfavorable mealtime using a data-driven approach. Meal skippers were categorized separately. Participants working evening, night, or rotating shifts were classified as shift workers. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, an unfavorable mealtime, meal skipping, and shiftwork were associated with a higher likelihood of CircS (OR = 1.24; 95%CI 1.07–1.44, OR = 1.39; 95%CI 1.16–1.67, and OR = 1.37; 95%CI 1.01–1.87, respectively). Subgroup analyses revealed no significant interactions between meal timing, meal skipping, or shiftwork and socioeconomic status or lifestyle regarding CircS. These findings highlight the importance of aligning mealtimes with circadian rhythms for improved circadian health. Full article

Night shift work has been associated with breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer, but evidence on other types of cancer is limited. We prospectively evaluated the association of rotating night shift work, sleep duration, and sleep difficulty with thyroid cancer risk in the Nurses’ Health Study 2 (NHS2). We assessed rotating night shift work duration (years) at baseline and throughout follow-up (1989–2015) and sleep characteristics in 2001. Cox proportional hazard models, adjusted for potential confounders, were used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for (a) shift work duration, (b) sleep duration, and (c) difficulty falling or staying asleep. We stratified the analyses of night shift work by sleep duration and sleep difficulty. Over 26 years of follow-up, 588 incident cases were identified among 114,534 women in the NHS2 cohort. We observed no association between night shift work and the risk of thyroid cancer. Difficulty falling or staying asleep was suggestively associated with a higher incidence of thyroid cancer when reported sometimes (HR 1.26, 95% CI 0.95, 1.66) and all or most of the time (HR 1.35, 95% CI 1.00, 1.81). Night shift workers (10+ years) with sleep difficulty all or most of the time (HR 1.47; 0.58–3.73) or with >7 h of sleep duration (HR 2.17; 95% CI, 1.21–3.92) had a higher risk of thyroid cancer. We found modest evidence for an increased risk of thyroid cancer in relation to sleep difficulty, which was more pronounced among night shift workers. Full article

Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) interfere with nitric oxide (NO) formation from L-arginine via different mechanisms. ADMA is a biomarker of cardiovascular disease and mortality, whilst SDMA is a biomarker of mortality after ischemic stroke. Homoarginine, another L-arginine-derived amino acid, is associated with stroke and congestive heart failure. Acute ischemic events like myocardial infarction show a time-of-day variation in the timing of their onset, as do NO-mediated vascular function and blood pressure. We studied whether the plasma concentrations of L-arginine-related amino acid metabolites show diurnal variation in a clinical study comparing 12 non-night shift workers with 60 rotating night shift workers. The plasma concentrations of L-arginine-related biomarkers, melatonin, and cortisol were measured every 3 h during a 24-h period. In addition, 24-h blood pressure recordings were performed. In non-night shift workers, L-arginine and homoarginine plasma concentrations showed diurnal variation with a 12-h period, which were both attenuated in night shift workers. ADMA and SDMA showed a 24-h rhythmicity with no significant differences in phase between night shift and non-night shift workers. The plasma profiles of melatonin and cortisol were not significantly different between both groups, suggesting that the rotating night shift work does not have a major influence on central suprachiasmatic nuclei clock timing. In addition, systolic and diastolic blood pressure patterns were similar between both groups. Our data show diurnal variation of dimethylarginines with the timing of their acrophases corresponding to the published timing of the peak incidence of cardiac ischemic events. Full article

The work environment is a factor that can significantly influence the composition and functionality of the gut microbiota of workers, in many cases leading to gut dysbiosis that will result in serious health problems. The aim of this paper was to provide a compilation of the different studies that have examined the influence of jobs with unconventional work schedules and environments on the gut microbiota of workers performing such work. As a possible solution, probiotic supplements, via modulation of the gut microbiota, can moderate the effects of sleep disturbance on the immune system, as well as restore the dysbiosis produced. Rotating shift work has been found to be associated with an increase in the risk of various metabolic diseases, such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes. Sleep disturbance or lack of sleep due to night work is also associated with metabolic diseases. In addition, sleep disturbance induces a stress response, both physiologically and psychologically, and disrupts the healthy functioning of the gut microbiota, thus triggering an inflammatory state. Other workers, including military, healthcare, or metallurgy workers, as well as livestock farmers or long-travel seamen, work in environments and schedules that can significantly affect their gut microbiota. Full article

Nonstandard work schedules such as shift work and night work tend to trigger problems for workers in different areas. To illustrate the diversity of areas affected and the relative interest of the scientific community, we conducted a literature review of the effects of shift work and night work on workers. In particular, we intended to identify the main variables addressed in the field of health, the family sphere, and the organizational context. The literature review was carried out using the Web of Science with the following terms: “shift work”, “rotating shifts”, and “night work”. Inclusion criteria incorporated empirical studies and articles written in Portuguese or English published in 2019. We selected 129 of the 619 articles identified. Regarding the impacts of shift work and night work, there existed a high discrepancy of focus between the three defined areas: health, family life, and organizational context. Specifically, health-related variables were the most studied (83.4%), followed by organizational variables (9.2%), and, lastly, family variables (7.4%). Based on these results, it is essential to extend the study of the two underrepresented impacts to other crucial areas, not only for the worker but also for organizations. Full article

Currently, about one in five workers is employed in night shift work in Europe. Shift work including nighttime hours is essential in several activities, especially the healthcare sector. Importantly, night working may be associated with the occurrence of sleep disorders or work-related stress, both potentially augmenting the risk of errors and accidents at work. This study aims to examine the presence of neurobehavioral alterations that can be a consequence of shift working and concurrent misalignment of the sleep times and circadian rhythms. Nurses (n = 102) employed at a University Hospital located in North-Eastern Sicily, Italy, voluntarily participated in this pilot study. During medical surveillance, morning and evening salivary samples were collected, and seven psychodiagnostics questionnaires were administered to all the subjects. On one hand, the salivary levels of stress-related biomarkers (cortisol and alpha-amylase) and a circadian biomarker (melatonin) were evaluated. On the other hand, several neurobehavioral features were assessed, including depression, anxiety, work-related, and sleep issues. Interestingly, a positive relationship between salivary morning cortisol and depression scale, as well as a negative relationship between salivary morning alpha-amylase and work ability scale, were observed. Based on these results, the integration of subjective questionnaire outcomes and objective salivary biomarker quantification can help to identify workers with increased susceptibility to developing neurobehavioral alterations. This approach may contribute to ameliorating preventive strategies towards sensitive categories, such as nurses working rotation shifts. Full article

Aim: To assess changes in blood pressure (BP) and arterial stiffness among 84 rotating shift and 25 dayworkers (control subjects) at two industrial plants during a 4-year follow-up, and to assess changes in outcome variables among shift workers at the two plants after a reduction in the number of night shifts during the last year of follow-up in one of the plants. Methods: We collected demographic data using a questionnaire, examined systolic and diastolic blood pressure (sBP, dBP), central systolic and diastolic aorta pressure (cSP, cDP), augmentation pressure (AP), central pulse pressure (cPP), and pulse wave velocity (PWV). We registered sleep quality. The last 4–14 months of follow-up one plant implemented a 12-week shift plan reducing the total number of night shifts and consecutive night shifts from 16.8 to 14 and from 7.2 to 4. To assess differences in change of outcomes between study groups we applied linear mixed models. Results: The dayworkers were older, more hypertensive, reported less sleep disturbance, and smoked/snuffed less than the shift workers did. The adjusted annual increase in PWV was 0.34 m/s (95%CI, 0.22, 0.46) among shift workers and 0.09 m/s (95%CI, −0.05, 0.23) in dayworkers, yielding a significant difference of change of 0.25 m/s (95%CI, 0.06, 0.43). No significant differences were found between the two groups of shift workers in any cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcome during the last year of follow-up. Conclusions: Shift work in industry is associated with arterial stiffness, reflecting an increased risk of future CVD. No significant changes in arterial stiffness were identified as a consequence of a small reduction in the number of night shifts and consecutive night shifts. Full article

Bladder cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the United States. Night shift work has previously been linked with cancer risk. Whether there is an association between rotating night shift work and bladder cancer in women has not been studied previously. Eligible participants in the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS, n = 82,147, 1988–2016) and Nurses’ Health Study II (NHSII, n = 113,630, 1989–2015) were prospectively followed and a total of 620 and 122 incident bladder cancer cases were documented during the follow-up of NHS and NHSII, respectively. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for bladder cancer incidence. We observed a significantly increased risk of bladder cancer among women with >5 years of night shift work history compared with women who never worked rotating night shifts in NHS (HR = 1.24; 95%CI = 1.01–1.54, p for trend = 0.06), but not in the pooled NHS and NHS II (HR = 1.18; 95%CI = 0.97–1.43, p for trend = 0.08). Secondary analyses stratified by smoking status showed no significant interaction (p = 0.89) between the duration of rotating night shift work and smoking status. In conclusion, our results did not provide strong evidence for an association between rotating night shift work and bladder cancer risk. Full article

The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations of the timing and nutritional characteristics of bedtime meals with sleep quality in nurses after rotating night shifts. In total, 128 nurses from a university hospital in South Korea participated in this cross-sectional study. Data were collected on the first night of two or three consecutive routine night shifts. Participants recorded all food eaten before going to bed after work. An accelerometer was used to objectively measure sleep quality, and subjective sleep quality was assessed by self-report using the Korean version of the Verran and Snyder-Halpern Sleep Scale. The associations of timing and nutritional characteristics of bedtime meals with sleep quality after night shifts were analyzed using multivariate linear regression. A short time interval between meals and sleep was associated with longer objectively measured total sleep time (β = −0.37, p = 0.002), and the proportion of protein in meals was associated with better objectively measured sleep efficiency (β = 0.31, p = 0.007). The shorter the time interval, the better the subjective sleep quality (β = −0.23, p = 0.048), and high-calorie meals were positively associated with subjective sleep quality (β = 0.23, p = 0.043). Based on our findings, we encourage nurses to have protein-rich meals after night shifts and reduce the delay between meals and sleep. Although high-calorie meals were shown to have a positive effect on subjective sleep quality, it is necessary to confirm this effect through additional research. Full article

Shift work (SW) is the main working schedule worldwide, and it may cause sleep disorders, breast cancer, and cardiovascular disease. Low back pain (LBP) is a common problem in the workplace; however, the association between LBP and SW remains unclear. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to determine the association between SW and LBP. This study was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases using a set of associated keywords were queried. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) adult employees hired by a company or organization; (2) SW exposure; and (3) the outcome of LBP according to examination or assessment. A total of 40 studies were included that met the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. SW was significantly associated with LBP (odds ratio [OR]: 1.31, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.18–1.47, p < 0.00001). Furthermore, it was observed that LBP was significantly associated with night shift (NS) (OR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.24–1.82, p < 0.0001) but not with rotating shift (RS) (OR: 0.96, 95% CI: 0.76–1.22, p = 0.49). Moreover, LBP was significantly associated with SW in health care workers (HCWs) (OR: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.20–1.63, p < 0.0001) but not in non-HCWs (OR: 1.19, 95% CI: 0.94–1.50, p = 0.14). SW was significantly associated with LBP. Furthermore, the subgroup analysis showed that NS, but not RS, was associated with LBP. Compared with SW in non-HCWs, SW in HCWs was significantly associated with LBP. Full article

Background: Occupational stress and shift work (including night shift work) are associated with physical and psychological health consequences in healthcare providers in general and those working in psychiatric establishments in particular. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of occupational risk factors and unscheduled night-time naps on self-reported health disorders among nurses working in a French psychiatric hospital. Methods: We performed a 12-month observational field study of experienced nurses working at Philippe Pinel Psychiatric Hospital (Amiens, France) between September 2018 and September 2019. A comparative descriptive study of two groups of nurses who filled out a questionnaire on health and occupational stress was performed: nurses working permanently on the night shift (the night shift group, who took unscheduled naps), and nurses rotating weekly between morning and afternoon shifts (the day shift group). Results: The night and day shift groups comprised 53 and 30 nurses, respectively. There were no intergroup differences in health disorders, sleep quality, occupational stress, and risk factor perception. Correlation analyses showed that in the day shift group, a low level of support from supervisors was associated with elevated levels of distress, anxiety, and gastrointestinal disorders. In the night shift group, a greater overall work load was associated with elevated levels of anxiety and distress. These findings indicated that the nurses on the night shift had adapted well to their working conditions. Conclusions: An organizational strategy including an unscheduled night-time nap might improve health among night shift nurses. Full article

Shift work is a way of organizing rotating schedules throughout the day. This can include 1–3 shifts for the same person on a rotational basis with other workers. Schedules that include night work have been associated with cardiovascular risk, mainly due to circadian misalignment. This systematic review sought to determine whether shift work is a risk factor for increased arterial stiffness. A systematic review of different databases was performed, using the following keywords: work shift, night work, arteriosclerosis, vascular stiffness, arterial stiffness, pulse wave velocity, and their Medical Subject Headings. We selected and analyzed 11 articles regarding pulse wave velocity as an indicator of arterial stiffness. Two studies identified higher levels of arterial stiffness in shift workers compared to day workers, while two studies found the opposite. In addition, four studies found no differences in arterial stiffness between shifts, two studies associated shorter sleep duration with arterial stiffness, and one study observed that physical activity could prevent adverse cardiovascular outcomes in shift workers. The findings are heterogeneous and preclude any robust conclusions. However, the present review points to the need for further studies to investigate arterial stiffness in shift workers, with greater control for confounding factors and longitudinal design. Full article