Non-dipping blood pressure pattern in pediatricians during on-duty
Javier Gonzalez-Garcia1, Juan Mayordomo-Colunga2, Manuel Gorostidi3
1Department of Pediatrics, Hospital Universitario de Cabueñes, Gijon, Spain.
Insights
Pediatric residents working long shifts show a higher risk of non-dipping blood pressure (BP). Shorter sleep times may also contribute to this cardiovascular risk pattern.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Occupational Health
- Medical Education
Background:
- A reduced nighttime dip in blood pressure (BP) is associated with increased cardiovascular risk.
- Long on-duty shifts in physicians may disrupt normal BP patterns.
- Understanding BP variations in physicians is crucial for occupational health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe blood pressure (BP) patterns in pediatricians working long on-duty shifts.
- To investigate the relationship between BP patterns, sex, medical rank, and sleeping time.
Main Methods:
- Descriptive, cross-sectional, two-center study.
- Recruited pediatric Resident physicians and Consultants between January 2018 and December 2021.
- Analyzed BP patterns in relation to medical rank and sleep duration.
Main Results:
- Resident physicians exhibited a higher night/day BP ratio (0.91 vs 0.85) and shorter sleep duration (3.87 vs 5.41 hours) compared to Consultants.
- Physicians sleeping less than 5 hours had a significantly higher night/day BP ratio (0.91 vs 0.87).
- Being a Resident physician was associated with a ~4.5-fold increased risk of a non-dipping BP pattern.
Conclusions:
- A non-dipping BP pattern is linked to being a Resident physician and potentially shorter sleep times during prolonged shifts.
- Findings suggest occupational factors, such as shift length and sleep deprivation, impact cardiovascular health in physicians.
Introduction:
People with a reduced nighttime dip in blood pressure have an increased cardiovascular risk. Our objective was to describe the different patterns in blood pressure (BP) among pediatricians who work in long on-duty shifts in relation with sex, medical rank and sleeping time.
Methods:
Descriptive, cross-sectional, two-center study. On duty pediatric Resident physicians and pediatric Consultants were recruited between January 2018 and December 2021.
Results:
Fifty-one physicians were included in the study (78.4% female, 66.7% Resident physicians). Resident physicians had a higher night/day ratio (0.91 vs 0.85; p<0.001) and a shorter nighttime period (3.87 vs 5.41, p<0.001) than Consultants. Physicians sleeping less than 5h had a higher night/day ratio (0.91 vs 0.87, p=0.014). Being a Resident showed a ∼4.5-fold increased risk of having a non-dipping BP pattern compared to Consultants.
Conclusion:
We found a potential link between both being a Resident and, probably, having shorter sleeping time, and the non-dipping BP pattern in physicians during prolonged shifts.
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