Citation

Guo Y, Liu Y, Huang X, Rong Y, He M, Wang Y, Yuan J, Wu T, Chen W. PLoS One 2013; 8(8): e71107.

Affiliation

Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China ; Key Laboratory of Environment and Health in Ministry of Education & Ministry of Environmental Protection, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Public Library of Science)

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0071107

PMID

23976988

PMCID

PMC3745433

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Shift work has been associated with adverse health effects by disturbing circadian rhythms. However,its potential long-term health effects and the persistent effects after leaving shifts have not been well established. METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied 26,463 workers from Tongji-Dongfeng Cohort in China. All the participants are retired employees of Dongfeng Motor Company. Information on demographics, occupational history and medical history were gathered through questionnaires. After adjusting potential confounders in the logistic regression models, shift work was associated with poor sleeping quality, diabetes and hypertension independently. We observed significant effects of shift work on poor sleeping quality, diabetes and hypertension; the ORs (95%CI) are 1.18 (1.09-1.27), 1.10 (1.03-1.17) and 1.05 (1.01-1.09) respectively. In the further analysis, we found elevated ORs (95%CI) for participants with poor sleeping quality, the ORs (95%CI) are 1.34 (1.08-1.60), 1.13 (1.05-1.21), 1.05 (1.03-1.07) and 1.05 (1.01-1.09) for 1-4, 5-9, 10-19, ≥20 years of shift work respectively. However, with the extension of leaving shift work duration, the effects of shift work on sleep quality gradually reduced. CONCLUSIONS: Shift work may be an independent risk factor for sleeping quality, diabetes and hypertension even in retired workers. Applicable intervention strategies are needed for prevention of sleep loss, diabetes, and hypertension for shift workers.

Language: en