Night Shifts Increases Diabetes Risk for Women

Mon, 12 Dec 2011

Women who work irregular hours may be at greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a major new study has revealed.

Research on two large groups of women in the US showed those who worked a rotating schedule including three or more night shifts per month, in addition to day and evening working hours, were at higher risk of developing the disease.

It also found extended years of rotating night shift work was associated with weight gain, another major risk factor of diabetes type 2.

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health followed nearly 177,000 women aged 25 to 92 without diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer at baseline.

During a 20 year follow-up, they reported 6,165 and 3,961 type 2 diabetes cases in each group respectively.

Findings of the analysis revealed that women who worked rotating night shifts for 1-2 years faced an increased diabetes risk of 5 per cent during that period, compared to those who did not work at night.

Women who worked nights for 10-19 years were 40 per cent more likely to develop the condition, while working rotating night shifts for more than two decades was found to be associated with a 58 per cent hike in risk .

The researchers said the problem may partly be due to night workers putting on extra pounds from snacking during hours when the body would normally be sleeping. The body’s metabolism naturally slows down at night, which prevents any extra calorie intake from being burned off, and causes it to be stored as fat.

In addition, sleeping at odd hours, or not getting enough sleep, can disrupt the metabolism and cause a boost to the appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin, and a drop in the level of the appetite-curbing hormone leptin .

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