Research conducted by Harvard School of Public Health and presented at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association has revealed that women who work nightshifts have a higher chance of developing Type 2 diabetes.
Do you work late into the night? This not only disrupts your social life and biological clock, but puts you at a higher risk of developing diabetes. And the risk is pronounced among woman.
Research conducted by Harvard School of Public Health and presented at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association has revealed that women who work nightshifts have a higher chance of developing Type 2 diabetes. Researchers surveyed more than 69,000 women from 1988 to 2008 and 6,200 women developed Type 2 diabetes over the course of the study.
The women were asked how long they worked on rotating nightshifts, including at least three nights of work per month. Researchers found that the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes rose with increase in the number of nightshifts. Women who worked nightshifts regularly for three to nine years had a 6% increase in risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, women who had worked for 10-19 years had a 9% risk, and those who had worked nightshifts for 20 years or more faced a 20% increase in risk.
In Bangalore, while nightshifts and late-night work has become part of life for many women working in the health sector, IT industries, media and BPOs, diabetologists observe that both men and women are at equal risk of developing diabetes.
“There are many hormones and chemicals in the body that are secreted depending on the diurnal rhythm of the body. A number of smaller studies have also suggested that an alteration in diurnal rhythm leads to an alteration in hormone secretion, thus resulting in insulin resistance, a prerequisite for Type 2 diabetes,” said Dr Satish Babu, consultant endocrinologist and diabetologist, BGS Global Hospital. Continuous nightshifts, therefore, make people prone to diabetics, he added.
It is known now that people who have sleep-related disorders are prone to diabetes and cardiac problems, said Dr Satish Kumar, consultant diabetologist, Narayana Hrudayalaya. “In general, people working nightshifts are at a higher risk of hormonal changes that make them overweight and cause insulin resistance in the body. Also, for those working nightshifts, there is a significant change in stress hormones, thus leading to insulin resistance,” he added.
These factors elevate the risk of developing diabetes. However, the reason why only women have been focused upon in this study remains unclear, he added.
However, diabetologists say the primary risk of Type 2 diabetes depends on family history. “If the parents, especially the mother, have diabetes, the risk of children developing the disease is high. In this study, family history of diabetes has not been considered,” said Dr Mohan Badgandhi, HoD, endocrinology and diabetics, Manipal Hospital.
However, one common observation is that those who work nightshifts, especially in the West, tend to eat junk food and drink aerated drinks, he added. “Since people working for nightshift follow a calorie-loaded diet, they run a higher risk of developing diabetes and other related problems like obesity, high cholesterol and triglyceride,” added Dr Badgandhi.
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