Dietary Interventions for Night Shift Workers: A Literature Review

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Nutrition Science
• Cardiovascular Health

Background:

• Night shift work is linked to increased cardiometabolic disease risk due to circadian misalignment, poor sleep, and diet.
• Dietary interventions may mitigate health risks for night shift workers.
• Gaps in research exist regarding the effectiveness of dietary strategies for this group.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of dietary interventions on health outcomes in night shift workers.
• To identify areas for future research in occupational and nutritional epidemiology.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature search was performed across multiple databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, etc.) up to June 2019.
• Inclusion criteria were based on the population-intervention-comparator-outcomes-study design (PICOS) framework.
• Five studies involving 670 night shift workers from various industries were included.

Main Results:

• Dietary interventions included nutrition programs and meal adjustments (composition, type, timing).
• No significant weight improvement was observed at 6 or 12 months.
• Low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol levels decreased at 6 months; triglyceride, glucose, and insulin levels peaked post-meal at specific times.

Conclusions:

• While weight loss was not achieved, improvements in LDL-cholesterol were noted.
• Further randomized controlled trials are recommended to investigate energy reduction and meal timing effects on cardiometabolic risk factors.
• Future studies should also assess hunger, sleepiness, and performance in night shift workers.