Night shifts, combined with an unhealthy lifestyle, are compounded by the risk of type 2 diabetes

New research has shown that women who work night shifts and have poor lifestyle habits are at particularly high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Conducted by US, Chinese, and Austrian researchers, this new study examined data from two long-term US nursing studies: Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and NHS II. , which began in 1976 and 1989.

The researchers collected data on 143,410 women who did not have type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease or cancer and who completed medical, dietary and lifestyle questionnaires at regular intervals during the studies.

Participants were defined as having an unhealthy lifestyle using four factors: being overweight or obese (body mass index of 25 or higher), having already smoked, doing less than 30 minutes per day of exercise. Intensity moderate to vigorous and have a poor diet (low in fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains, and high in processed meat, trans fats, sugar and salt).

Shift night shift work has been defined as working at least three night shifts per month in addition to the day and evening shifts of the month.

The results, published in The BMJ, showed that during the 22 to 24 years of follow-up, every five years of alternating night, participants were close to one-third more likely (31%) 39, have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Each unhealthy lifestyle factor included in the study also proved to more than double the risk of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

However, the researchers also found that women with one of the four unhealthy lifestyle factors and working night shifts had an even higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

For each unhealthy lifestyle factor, participants had a 2.83-fold higher risk of disease, which researchers say is not just the sum of individual risks associated with unhealthy lifestyles. at shift work, suggesting some interaction between the two risk factors. even more risk.

It is already well known that factors such as smoking, poor diet and low physical activity as well as being overweight or obese can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Shift work, especially night work, was also associated with a higher risk of illness, possibly due to the disruption of circadian rhythms that may affect hormones.

The authors pointed out that as an observational study, it was not possible to make a definitive conclusion as to cause and effect and that further studies were needed.

However, they concluded that "[m]Most cases of type 2 diabetes could be prevented by adhering to a healthy lifestyle and the benefits may be greater in the case of rotating night workers. " JB

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