A cross-sectional study of shift work, sleep quality and cardiometabolic risk in female hospital employees

Objectives: Investigating the potential pathways linking shift work and cardiovascular diseases (CVD), this study aimed to identify whether sleep disturbances mediate the relationship between shift work and the metabolic syndrome, a cluster of CVD risk factors. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: A tertiary-level, acute care teaching hospital in Southeastern Ontario, Canada. Participants: Female hospital employees working a shift schedule of two 12 h days, two 12 h nights, followed by 5 days off (n=121) were compared with female day-only workers (n=150). Primary and secondary outcome measures: Each of the seven components of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was measured. Of these, PSQI global score, sleep latency and sleep efficiency were examined as potential mediators in the relationship between shift work and the metabolic syndrome. Results: Shift work status was associated with poor (>5) PSQI global score (OR=2.10, 95% Cl 1.20 to 3.65), poor (>= 2) sleep latency (OR=2.18, 95% Cl 1.23 to 3.87) and poor (>= 2) sleep efficiency (OR=2.11, 95% CI 1.16 to 3.84). Although shift work was associated with the metabolic syndrome (OR=2.29, 95% Cl 1.12 to 4.70), the measured components of sleep quality did not mediate the relationship between shift work and the metabolic syndrome. Conclusions: Women working in a rapid forward rotating shift pattern have poorer sleep quality according to self-reported indicators of the validated PSQI and they have a higher prevalence of the metabolic syndrome compared with women who work during the day only. However, sleep quality did not mediate the relationship between shift work and the metabolic syndrome, suggesting that there are other psychophysiological pathways linking shift work to increased risk for CVD.