Overnight shift workers may be at an increased risk for negative cardiac events, new data collected by researchers in Canada and Norway shows. The study collected data from 34 surveys of over 2 million workers.
The study, published in the latest edition of the British Medical Journal, showed shift workers were 23 percent more likely to experience a heart attack, 24 percent more likely to have a coronary event and 5 percent more likely to suffer a stroke.
According to lead researcher Dan Hackam, associate professor at Western University, London Ontario in Canada, the increased heart risk could be a result of weight gain associated with insufficient rest.
"Night shift workers are up all the time and they don't have a defined rest period. They are in a state of perpetual nervous system activation which is bad for things like obesity and cholesterol," Hackam said.
"It can result in disturbed appetite and digestion, reliance on sedatives and, or stimulants, as well as social and domestic problems."
by RTT Staff Writer
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