Cumulative Night Shift Work and Incident Cardiovascular Disease: Gutenberg Health Study
Summary
This 5-year prospective analysis from the Gutenberg Health Study examined whether cumulative night-shift work over the prior 10 years relates to new cardiovascular disease (CVD) in 7,607 employed adults without CVD at baseline. Compared with day workers, night-shift workers had a higher crude CVD incidence (6.88 vs 5.19 per 1,000 person-years). After adjusting for age, sex, and job factors, hazard ratios for CVD were elevated but not statistically significantacross low, middle, and high exposure categories (e.g., HR 1.37 [0.74–2.53] for 1–3 years exposure). The authors interpret these as suggestive trends, emphasizing that longer follow-up and more events are needed to clarify the relationship.
Why It Matters For Night Shift Workers and Night Owls
Over just five years, this study saw signals—not definitive proof—that working nights may raise the chance of heart problems. The trend aligns with larger meta-analyses but wasn’t statistically certain here. For night workers, the practical takeaway is early, routine heart-health monitoring (blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose), plus basics that help lower overall risk (physical activity, not smoking, smart nutrition, and adequate sleep on off-days). Scheduling practices that reduce chronic night exposure or allow better recovery could also matter, but stronger long-term evidence is still coming.
Notes
Open access (Int J Environ Res Public Health).