Scientists from Xiangya Hospital of Central South University found people with high blood pressure may be at higher risk for developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes if they work frequent night shifts.
The higher risk was more pronounced among people who also slept too much or too little when they weren’t working.
Previous studies found an association between shift work and a higher risk for cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure in people who were otherwise healthy.
In the current study, the team analyzed health and employment data for 36,939 participants in the UK Biobank, a large biomedical database of people living in the United Kingdom.
Participants, who enrolled in the study between 2006 and 2010, were 40 to 69 years old. They were followed for nearly 12 years on average.
The team found among people with high blood pressure, usually or always working night shifts were linked to a 16% higher risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, or stroke than those who worked during typical daytime work hours.
Shift work was defined as any work done during non-standard working hours or any time between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. Shift workers make up about 20% of U.S. and European workers.
The researchers also found that compared to people who worked day shifts, working an average of one to 10-night shifts per month over a lifetime led to a 14% higher risk for developing an additional cardiometabolic condition.
The risk was even higher – 19% – among those who worked more than 10-night shifts per month.
The risk of developing additional cardiometabolic conditions was higher even if night shift workers got the same seven to eight hours of sleep as daytime workers.
The risk was even more pronounced if they slept less than seven hours or more than eight.
Researchers say alternating between night and day shifts can make it difficult for the body to adjust and harder to maintain healthy sleep habits.
The human body has an internal clock that regulates when it should be awake and when it should be asleep, which response to light and dark as triggers for these circadian rhythms.
Most adults need from 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night to promote good heart health, according to the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8checklist for improving and maintaining cardiovascular health.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies about food that could help lower risk of high blood pressure, and this simple exercise may lower blood pressure more effectively.
For more information about blood pressure, please see recent studies about an ignored cause of high blood pressure, and results showing blood pressure management in this way can be effective and low-cost.
The research was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association and conducted by Dr. Yongping Bai et al.
Copyright © 2022 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
