Do Rotating Night Shifts Change Nurses' Nutritional Status? A Cross-Sectional Study

Area of Science:

• Nutritional Science
• Sleep Medicine
• Occupational Health

Background:

• Shift work, particularly night shifts, disrupts natural circadian rhythms.
• Disruption of light-dark and rest-activity cycles affects physiological processes.
• Nurses are a population frequently exposed to shift work and its potential health consequences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the nutritional status of nurses working rotating night shifts.
• To evaluate circadian phenotypes, sleep quality, and anthropometric measurements in this group.
• To understand the dietary patterns associated with night shift work.

Main Methods:

• Study included 44 nurses working rotating night shifts.
• Data collection involved 4-day physical activity records and 7-day 24-hour dietary recalls.
• Circadian phenotypes and sleep quality were assessed using the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire and Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index, respectively.

Main Results:

• Most nurses exhibited evening chronotypes and poor sleep quality.
• Night shift work correlated with higher energy intake, lower energy expenditure, and altered food choices (less fiber, more fats/sweets/cereals).
• Significant correlations were found between total shift work duration and increased BMI, waist circumference, waist-height ratio, and body fat percentage.

Conclusions:

• Night shift work is associated with adverse nutritional and anthropometric changes in nurses.
• Poor sleep quality and evening chronotype are prevalent among nurses in this study.
• Recommendations include encouraging adequate water intake and healthier food choices during night shifts to support health and performance.