Efficacy and Adherence to a Supervised Aerobic Exercise Training Intervention in Night-Shift Hospital Nurses: A...

Increasing physical activity (PA) levels may mitigate adverse consequences of shift work, including increased risk for cardiometabolic disease. However, structured exercise interventions in this population are limited. The primary objectives of this randomized controlled trial are to 1) evaluate the efficacy of a 12-week supervised exercise training intervention on cardiometabolic risk, body composition, aerobic fitness, and muscle power among shift-working nurses and 2) explore the feasibility of the intervention. Physically inactive (n = 26) night shift-working acute care nurses (33.2 ± 8.2 years) were randomized into either wait-list control (CON) or aerobic exercise (EX) for 12 weeks. Aerobic exercise training consisted of progressive supervised exercise on a cycle ergometer and treadmill 3 days/week. Cardiometabolic outcomes (fasting glucose, insulin, lipid panel) were measured using standard laboratory assays, body composition by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, PA by accelerometry, strength by hand-grip dynamometry, muscle power by isokinetic dynamometry, and cardiorespiratory fitness by graded exercise test (VO₂max). Participants completed 96.2% ± 4.2% of the prescribed exercise sessions and 97% ± 4.2% of sessions were performed within the prescribed heart rate range. There were no significant between-group changes in cardiometabolic risk, body composition, PA, muscle strength, or muscle power. EX improved VO₂max (+0.19 ± 0.17 L/min) compared to CON (-0.04 ± 0.12 L/min), independent of baseline, age, sex, and change in fat-free mass. Structured, supervised aerobic exercise consistent with recommended guidelines is an attainable and efficacious strategy for improving fitness in night shift-working acute care hospital nurses. Our novel data support the implementation and continued investigation of PA interventions in this under-studied population.