Association between shift work and inflammatory markers in workers at an electronics manufacturing company

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Cardiovascular Disease Research
• Inflammation Biology

Background:

• Shift work is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD).
• Inflammatory processes play a crucial role in the development and progression of CVD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between shift work and key inflammatory markers.
• To determine if shift work is linked to elevated levels of specific inflammatory indicators.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study of 2,329 workers from an electronics manufacturing company was conducted.
• Workers' general and biochemical characteristics were compared between day and shift workers.
• Multiple linear and logistic regression analyses were used to assess the association between shift work and inflammatory markers.

Main Results:

• Shift workers exhibited significantly higher mean counts of total leukocytes, neutrophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes compared to day workers.
• Shift work was significantly associated with increased total leukocyte count (β = 0.367, p < 0.001) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (β = 0.140, p = 0.005).
• Shift work increased the risk of high leukocyte count by 2.27 times and high hs-CRP levels by 1.8 times compared to day work.

Conclusions:

• This study confirms a significant association between shift work and elevated inflammatory markers.
• High inflammatory markers are independent indicators of CVD risk.
• The link between shift work and heightened inflammation may elucidate the elevated CVD risk observed in shift workers.