Obesity and High Blood Pressure of 12-Hour Night Shift Female Clean-Room Workers

Abstract

The 12 h shift schedule is widely used in clean rooms for electronic semiconductor production in Taiwan. This study investigated the associations of obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS) components among women working in a semiconductor manufacturing factory in North Taiwan. Workers were divided into four groups according to their work schedules and duties (i.e., office workers, day workers, fixed 12 h day shift, and fixed 12 h night shiftworkers). The subjects comprised 1838 women who voluntarily attended a health examination between August 2006 and November 2006. Their mean (+/-SD) age was 33.6 (+/-7.1) yrs and their mean duration of work was 7.4 (+/-5.2) yrs. Each subject's health-related behaviors, body mass index, and MetS components were measured and analyzed using multivariate logistic regression. Obesity and MetS were defined according to World Health Organization criteria for Asian populations and the National Cholesterol Educational Program and Adult Treatment Panel III Guidelines, respectively. The results showed that women working in the clean room on fixed 12 h night shifts had significantly elevated odds ratios for obesity (OR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.6-4.5), central obesity (OR, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.7-5.1), and high blood pressure (OR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.2-4.4) compared to female office workers; these results persisted after adjusting for age, smoking, drinking, education, and duration of work. We did not find any significant differences in triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol among women working different schedules. We conclude that working fixed 12 h night shifts was associated with an increased odds ratio for obesity, central obesity, and high blood pressure among clean-room women workers. Weight reduction and blood pressure control programs should be implemented in the workplace for women working fixed 12 h night shifts.

Shiftwork and Metabolic Dysfunction

“…Lowden et al (2010) discussed a range of possible dietary mechanisms that may underlie the link between shiftwork and the symptoms of metabolic syndrome. They noted that several studies have shown associations between shiftwork and obesity (e.g., Chen et al, 2010;Gangwisch et al, 2005;Vorona et al, 2005), although not all findings have supported such a link. The causal factors underlying the association are not well established, although restricted sleep that is common among shiftworkers has been identified as a potentially important issue (Lowden et al, 2010).…”

Rotating shift work associated with obesity in men from northeastern Ontario

“…have been conducted in specific workplace settings, primarily restricted to individuals employed in single industries, 7,8,[10][11][12][13][14][15]17,19,20,23,24,26,27 with only a few population-based studies, especially among men. 4,18 As a result, assessment of shift work exposure has been limited, with most studies examining only one specific shift schedule or pattern.…”

When Does Stress End? Evidence of a Prolonged Stress Reaction in Shiftworking Truck Drivers

“…Previous studies have clearly shown that shiftwork is associated with chronic health problems, for example, mental health disorders (Bara el al., 2009;Driesen et al, 2009), cardiovascular disease (Puttonen et al, 2010), and the metabolic syndrome (Chen et al, 2010;Karlsson et al, 2003;Padilha et al, 2009). These health problems are often discussed in the context of elevated psychosocial stress arising from a mismatch between job demand and job control (Alves et al, 2004;Bara el al., 2009;Rystedt et al, 2008;Thomas et al, 2009), which can result in pronounced levels of the stress hormone cortisol (Rystedt et al, 2008).…”