Health Risks Associated With Late Working Hours

Night Shifts Lead to Poor Health In Women

Apparently women who work on rotating shifts are more susceptible to certain diseases, specifically the number one killer in the United States, Heart Disease. Long term shift work is a percursor to raised cortisol levels (the stress hormone) leading to a more signficant risk factor to certain illnesses.

"The researchers, led by Pan and senior author Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology, analyzed data on more than 69,269 U.S. women, ages 42 to 67, in the Nurses’ Health Study I, tracked from 1988 to 2008, and 107,915 women, ages 25 to 42, in the Nurses’ Health Study II, tracked from 1989 to 2007. About 60% of the nurses performed more than one year of rotating night shift work at baseline; about 11% in Nurses’ Health Study I had more than 10 years of rotating night shift work at baseline, and about 4% in Nurses’ Health Study II worked more than 10 years of rotating night shifts at baseline, and this proportion increased during the follow-up." ( http://healthblogs.org/2012/03/11/rotating-night-shift-work-linked-to-increased-risk-of-type-2-diabetes-in-women/#more-388 )

Of course taking into account other risk factors such as eating habits, poor health habits such as smoking, sleeping patterns, and of course genetics help to explain the relationship between poor health and long/late working shifts. One study done showed a signifcant increased risk of type 2 diabetes among women working rotating night shifts. Rotating night work can change the circadian rhytms that are closey linked with diabetes, obesity, and even glucose dysregulation. Studies have also shown over the years, that lack of sleep is closely associated with weight gain, and with this a higher chance of obesity, heart problems, and type 2 diabetes.