Shiftwork, long working hours and markers of inflammation in a national US population-based sample of employed black and white men and women aged ≥45 years

• Published in: Occupational and environmental medicine (London, England) England), 2023-11, Vol.80 (11), p.635-643
• Main Authors: Velazquez-Kronen, Raquel, MacDonald, Leslie A, Akinyemiju, Tomi F, Cushman, Mary, Howard, Virginia J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Blood; C-reactive protein; C-Reactive Protein - metabolism; Chronic illnesses; Circadian rhythm; Circadian rhythms; Cross-Sectional Studies; Disease; epidemiology; Female; Gender differences; Hispanic Americans; Humans; Inequality; Inflammation; Inflammatory response; Leukocytes; Male; Medical screening; Men; occupational health; Population-based studies; Proteins; Questionnaires; Race; Racial differences; Regression Analysis; Schedules; Self employment; Sex; Shift work; shift work schedule; Stroke; Subgroups; Tenure; Wages & salaries; White; White people; Women; Womens health; Work Schedule Tolerance - physiology; Workers; Working hours; Workplace
• ISSN: 1351-0711; 1470-7926; 1470-7926
• DOI: 10.1136/oemed-2023-108902

ObjectivesWork schedule demands contribute to circadian disruption and may influence health via an inflammatory response. We examined the impact of shiftwork and long work hours on inflammation in a national US sample.MethodsParticipants included 12 487 employed black and white men and women aged ≥45 years enrolled in the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke Study who completed an occupational questionnaire (2011–2013) and clinical examination (2013–2016). Cross-sectional associations between shiftwork and work hours with log-transformed high-sensitivity C reactive protein (CRP) and white blood cell (WBC) count were examined by multiple linear regression analysis, overall and by race–sex subgroups.ResultsOverall, rotating shift workers had higher log-CRP concentration compared with day workers (β=0.09, 95% CI:0.02 to 0.16) and findings for WBC were null. Black women had the highest geometric mean CRP (2.82 mg/L), while white men had the highest WBC (6.35×109/L). White men who worked afternoons had higher log-CRP compared with those who worked days (β=0.20, 95% CI: 0.08 to 0.33). Black men engaged in shiftwork