Influence of Night Shift Work on Heart Rate Variability in an Age- and Gender-Matched Study Group

Regular and long-term shift work is associated with a number of chronic diseases. There is some evidence that shift work also has an influence on the autonomous nervous system. Studies that have examined the effect of shift work on heart rate variability (HRV) have not taken into account age and gen...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kai H. Barckhan, Irina Böckelmann, Stefan Sammito
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-09-01
Series:Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2308-3425/11/9/280
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850260754209439744
author Kai H. Barckhan
Irina Böckelmann
Stefan Sammito
author_facet Kai H. Barckhan
Irina Böckelmann
Stefan Sammito
author_sort Kai H. Barckhan
collection DOAJ
description Regular and long-term shift work is associated with a number of chronic diseases. There is some evidence that shift work also has an influence on the autonomous nervous system. Studies that have examined the effect of shift work on heart rate variability (HRV) have not taken into account age and gender. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the influence of night shift based on 24 h long-term analyses carried out on non-night shift days with a matched control group for age and gender. In total, 172 (128 male, 44 female) healthy shift night workers were compared with subjects from a non-night shift worker group at a ratio of 1:1, forming matched pairs based on the subjects’ sex and age. HRV parameters were analyzed based on 24 h ECG recording. An analysis of the HRV parameters showed only a small difference but without statistical significance between the two groups with regard to all of the HRV parameters examined (SDNN, RMSSD, NN50, pNN50, VLF, LF, HF, LF/HF, DFA1, and DFA2). An analysis of the subgroup of subjects who had only worked night shifts for a minimum of 10 or 20 years, with the respective pairs matched by age and gender, did not reveal any significant differences between the HRV parameters of employees working night shifts and those not working night shifts. Taking into account qualitative aspects of HRV analysis, this study was thus able to show that working night shifts for many years may not have as big an influence on HRV as had been assumed so far.
format Article
id doaj-art-0ac1bf1f91ad4df3b05697c599a6cf95
institution OA Journals
issn 2308-3425
language English
publishDate 2024-09-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease
spelling doaj-art-0ac1bf1f91ad4df3b05697c599a6cf952025-08-20T01:55:34ZengMDPI AGJournal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease2308-34252024-09-0111928010.3390/jcdd11090280Influence of Night Shift Work on Heart Rate Variability in an Age- and Gender-Matched Study GroupKai H. Barckhan0Irina Böckelmann1Stefan Sammito2Institute of Pathology, Bundeswehr Central Hospital Koblenz, 56072 Koblenz, GermanyDepartment of Occupational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, 39120 Magdeburg, GermanyDepartment of Occupational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, 39120 Magdeburg, GermanyRegular and long-term shift work is associated with a number of chronic diseases. There is some evidence that shift work also has an influence on the autonomous nervous system. Studies that have examined the effect of shift work on heart rate variability (HRV) have not taken into account age and gender. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the influence of night shift based on 24 h long-term analyses carried out on non-night shift days with a matched control group for age and gender. In total, 172 (128 male, 44 female) healthy shift night workers were compared with subjects from a non-night shift worker group at a ratio of 1:1, forming matched pairs based on the subjects’ sex and age. HRV parameters were analyzed based on 24 h ECG recording. An analysis of the HRV parameters showed only a small difference but without statistical significance between the two groups with regard to all of the HRV parameters examined (SDNN, RMSSD, NN50, pNN50, VLF, LF, HF, LF/HF, DFA1, and DFA2). An analysis of the subgroup of subjects who had only worked night shifts for a minimum of 10 or 20 years, with the respective pairs matched by age and gender, did not reveal any significant differences between the HRV parameters of employees working night shifts and those not working night shifts. Taking into account qualitative aspects of HRV analysis, this study was thus able to show that working night shifts for many years may not have as big an influence on HRV as had been assumed so far.https://www.mdpi.com/2308-3425/11/9/280shift workautonomous nervous systemheart rate variabilitylong-term effectoccupational medicine
spellingShingle Kai H. Barckhan
Irina Böckelmann
Stefan Sammito
Influence of Night Shift Work on Heart Rate Variability in an Age- and Gender-Matched Study Group
Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease
shift work
autonomous nervous system
heart rate variability
long-term effect
occupational medicine
title Influence of Night Shift Work on Heart Rate Variability in an Age- and Gender-Matched Study Group
title_full Influence of Night Shift Work on Heart Rate Variability in an Age- and Gender-Matched Study Group
title_fullStr Influence of Night Shift Work on Heart Rate Variability in an Age- and Gender-Matched Study Group
title_full_unstemmed Influence of Night Shift Work on Heart Rate Variability in an Age- and Gender-Matched Study Group
title_short Influence of Night Shift Work on Heart Rate Variability in an Age- and Gender-Matched Study Group
title_sort influence of night shift work on heart rate variability in an age and gender matched study group
topic shift work
autonomous nervous system
heart rate variability
long-term effect
occupational medicine
url https://www.mdpi.com/2308-3425/11/9/280
work_keys_str_mv AT kaihbarckhan influenceofnightshiftworkonheartratevariabilityinanageandgendermatchedstudygroup
AT irinabockelmann influenceofnightshiftworkonheartratevariabilityinanageandgendermatchedstudygroup
AT stefansammito influenceofnightshiftworkonheartratevariabilityinanageandgendermatchedstudygroup