Impact of Nightshift Work on Overweight and Abdominal Obesity Among Workers of a Poultry Processing Plant in Southern Brazil

• Published in: Chronobiology international Vol. 29; no. 3; pp. 336 - 343
• Main Authors: Macagnan, Jamile, Pattussi, Marcos Pascoal, Canuto, Raquel, Henn, Ruth Liane, Fassa, Anaclaudia Gastal, Olinto, Maria Teresa A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Informa Healthcare 01.04.2012; Taylor & Francis
• Subjects: Abdominal obesity; Adolescent; Adult; Animals; Brazil - epidemiology; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Night work; Nutritional Status; Obesity, Abdominal - epidemiology; Obesity, Abdominal - etiology; Obesity, Abdominal - psychology; Occupational Diseases - epidemiology; Occupational Diseases - etiology; Occupational Diseases - psychology; Occupations; Overweight; Overweight - epidemiology; Overweight - etiology; Overweight - psychology; Poultry; Prevalence; Risk Factors; Shiftwork; Work Schedule Tolerance - physiology; Work Schedule Tolerance - psychology; Young Adult; Brazil
• ISSN: 0742-0528; 1525-6073
• DOI: 10.3109/07420528.2011.653851

The authors examined the associations of shiftwork with overweight and abdominal obesity through a cross-sectional study of 1206 employees 18 to 50 yrs of age who were working on a production line in a poultry processing plant. Night-shift workers (n = 800) were considered exposed, whereas day shiftworkers (n = 406) were considered nonexposed. Overweight was defined as a body mass index ≥25 kg m2 and abdominal obesity as a waist circumference ≥88 cm in women and ≥102 cm in men. The mean age of the workers was 30.5 yrs (standard deviation = 8.7 yrs), and 65.2% were women. Nightshift workers compared to dayshift workers showed higher prevalences of overweight (42.2% vs. 34.3%; p = .020) and abdominal obesity (24.9% vs. 19.5%; p = .037). After adjusting for sociodemographics, parental overweight status, behavioral characteristics, and sleep characteristics, including hours of sleep, the prevalence ratios for overweight and abdominal obesity were 1.27 (95% confidence interval [ CI]: 1.00-1.61) and 1.45 (95% CI: 1.10-1.92), respectively, for the nightshift workers compared to the dayshift workers. A consistent finding in our study was the independent contribution of night shiftwork to overweight and abdominal obesity among Brazilian workers. Further studies are needed to understand the biological mechanisms involved and the complex behavioral and social adaptations experienced by night-shift workers. (Author correspondence: mtolinto@gmail.com)