So I know there are already plenty of burn-out threads, but I hope this will be a little different. What are your opinions on the scientific evidence that shift work may decrease life expectancy and increase the risk for MI and obesity? There have been several studies on this (a fewing saying no and perhaps a few more saying yes), but I don't think that any of the studies is particularly strong. Among other things, people who work shift work tend to be a bit worse off socioeconomically than day workers (confirmed by the data in these studies). Most of the studies attempt to account for education level, smoking, etc, but significant confounders may remain.
There is considerable evidence that sleep is important and that diseases like sleep apnea have serious health consequences. At the same time, narcolepsy (a disease that profoundly affects sleep) does not appear to alter life expectancy.
1) What are your observations of you and your colleages? Is shift work rough on your health?
2) Do you think other fields of medicine with call/long hours are vulnerable to similar sleep deprivation issues?
Anyway, what are all of your thoughts?
Here are some studies
1) http://www.circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/92/11/3178
Prospective study in female nurses
2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10341746
Case-control study from Sweden
3) http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v27/n11/full/0802419a.html
Obesity and shift work study
4) http://www.springerlink.com/content/gxc2ahyhx2kqj3cn/
Shift work and HDL, glucose, etc
There is considerable evidence that sleep is important and that diseases like sleep apnea have serious health consequences. At the same time, narcolepsy (a disease that profoundly affects sleep) does not appear to alter life expectancy.
1) What are your observations of you and your colleages? Is shift work rough on your health?
2) Do you think other fields of medicine with call/long hours are vulnerable to similar sleep deprivation issues?
Anyway, what are all of your thoughts?
Here are some studies
1) http://www.circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/92/11/3178
Prospective study in female nurses
2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10341746
Case-control study from Sweden
3) http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v27/n11/full/0802419a.html
Obesity and shift work study
4) http://www.springerlink.com/content/gxc2ahyhx2kqj3cn/
Shift work and HDL, glucose, etc