Shift Work and Respiratory Infections
A study of 396 hospital employees found that shift workers have a 23% higher incidence of respiratory infections compared to non-shift workers. The research suggests that poor sleep quality is the primary mediator for this increased health risk.
Why it matters
Understanding the link between shift work and immune health is critical for improving workplace safety and health policies in the healthcare sector.
SHIFT work and respiratory infections may be linked partly through poorer sleep quality among healthcare workers.
A prospective cohort study involving 396 hospital employees found that shift workers had a 23% higher incidence rate of influenza-like illness and acute respiratory infection episodes than non-shift workers. Researchers examined whether sleep, physical activity, and diet could help explain this association.
Participants included healthcare workers who either worked rotating or night shifts or had not worked either type of shift for at least six months. At baseline, sleep duration and physical activity were assessed using accelerometers and diaries, while participants reported sleep quality and recorded their food intake.
Over the following six months, participants used a smartphone application to report respiratory symptoms daily. Shift workers averaged 3.5 influenza-like illness or acute respiratory infection episodes compared with 2.9 among non-shift workers.
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