A new study suggests that people who do shift work may have a higher risk of diabetes, even after returning to a daytime schedule. Any amount of shift work, whether it’s only for a few years or an entire lifetime, is linked with higher risk diabetes, according researchers from the University of Pittsburgh.
The study included 1,111 retired adults, aged 65 and older, 634 of whom were male and 477 of whom were female, all lived in western Pennsylvania. The participants were divided into five different groups: Those who had never done shift work (defined as not working past 9 p.m. on a non-overtime basis), those who had done 1 to 7 years of shift work, those who had done eight to 14 years of shift work, those who had done 15 to 20 years of shift work, and those who had done more than 20 years of shift work.
The diabetes risk would doubled among those who had done shift work and had a high BMI, compared to those who had not done shift work. Even without BMI factored into the results, the diabetes risk was still 1.4 times higher among the shift workers. There was no difference in diabetes risk among the groups shift workers (1 to 7 years, 8 to 14 years, etc.)
Based on the study results, researchers are suggests that steps be taken to encourage people to work during the day whenever possible, and provide education and support for employees who work require work at night.
Regular daily rhythms and adequate sleep every night are factors we can’t change. If you have to work past daytime hours, be aware of the lifestyle factors such as exercise and smoking, and how they can work for or against you respectively.
No comments yet.