Men appear to be the hardest hit by this study, which states that shift work is associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and which has been published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine .
There are many studies that predict that by 2025, in just over a decade, the number of cases of type 2 diabetes will increase by 65% compared to current rates, which could affect more than 380 million people worldwide the world. Identifying risk factors is therefore a key issue in preventing these alarming figures for the future.
Thus, a team of researchers from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology of China has carried out a comparative meta-analysis of the results of 12 international studies , with more than 226,500 participants, 14,600 of whom had diabetes. The researchers discovered a pattern: Comparing normal office work hours, any period of shift work or rotating shifts was associated with a 9% increased risk of developing diabetes . The risk increased up to 37% for men .
Rotating shifts make it more difficult for people to adjust to both a proper sleep and wake cycle , which can induce or worsen insulin resistance, the study authors say.
