Night Shift Work and Biomarkers of Obesity Risk in Hospital and Industry Workers

Launched by UNIVERSITY OF VIENNA · Feb 23, 2024

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying how working night shifts may affect the risk of obesity and other health problems. Researchers want to understand the biological and lifestyle factors that link night shift work to weight gain and related issues, like heart disease and diabetes. They will be recruiting 1,000 workers from healthcare and various industries across five European countries—Austria, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland. Participants will include both night shift workers and day workers, and they will be asked to fill out online questionnaires about their eating habits, lifestyle, and health.

To be eligible, participants need to be at least 21 years old, work in the healthcare or industrial sectors, and have been working night shifts for at least three years, with a minimum of four rotating night shifts per month. Day workers can also join the study if they haven't worked any night shifts for the last ten years. During the study, participants will provide different biological samples, like blood and urine, which will help researchers analyze how their bodies respond to shift work. This trial aims to shed light on the health impacts of night shift work, which could help improve the well-being of many workers in similar situations.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• • Inclusion Criteria shift worker
• • Health care sector or industrial shift worker
• • Employed or self-employed
• • 21 years or older
• • ≥ 28 h/ week
• • Shift work duration \> 3 years and currently doing night shifts
• • 4 or more rotating night shifts/month (night shift defined as a work schedule that involves working at least 3 hours between 00:00 and 5:00), at least 2 consecutive nights/month
• • Inclusion criteria controls
• • Health care sector or industrial work
• • Employed or self-employed
• • 21 years or older
• • ≥ 28 h/ week
• • No night shift or rotating shift work in the last 10 years
• • No history of night shift or rotating shift work for more than 5 years
• Exclusion Criteria shift worker and controls:
• • Pregnancy
• • Lactation period
• • BMI of 40 or above
• • Present treatment of a disease e.g. cancer radio- or chemotherapy
• • Chronic diseases if in an ongoing therapy but not after a remission (renal failure, active hepatitis, cirrhosis, myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancer)
• • Immunodeficiency syndrome, any auto-immune or auto-inflammatory diseases (e.g. type-1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis) and acute episodes of atopic diseases (atopic dermatitis, asthma, type 1 allergies such as hay fever)
• • Bariatric surgery
• • Antibiotics in the last month