Night and Shift‑Work Patterns and Next‑Year Type 2 Diabetes Incidence
Summary
This large Swedish cohort study tracked nearly 28,000 nurses and nursing assistants to see how shift patterns influenced the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and hypertension. Over several years, workers on permanent night shifts or with intensive schedules (more than 120 evening/night shifts in a year) had a significantly higher risk of developing T2D compared with day workers. The risk also tended to rise with more years of exclusive night work or frequent stretches of three or more consecutive night shifts. In contrast, night and shift work patterns were not linked to hypertension in this group.
Why It Matters For Night Shift Workers and Night Owls
This study shows that it’s not just working nights, but how many and how often, that influences diabetes risk. Regular or heavy night schedules appear to put more strain on blood sugar regulation than occasional night work. For workers, this means two practical steps: (1) limit consecutive or permanent night shifts where possible, and (2) schedule regular health checkups to monitor blood sugar. While hypertension wasn’t tied to night work in this study, diabetes risk clearly was — making proactive monitoring especially important.
Notes
Registry‑based cohort.