Shiftwork and its consequences for health

Abstract

Due to the increase in the demand for production in companies around the world, as well as the possibility of reducing manufacturing costs, more and more people are working by shiftworks. Shiftwork has been related in many articles with negative effects for the health of the people who work under this system, such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity and dyslipidemias which are components of the metabolic syndrome. In an investigation carried out by our work team in an automobile manufacturing company, in which there are two calendars: rotation of shifts (workers) and nonrotation of shifts (administrative); we identify through the analysis of the medical evaluations that the workers were made in 2015, 2016 and 2017, that the levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, body mass index and waist hip ratio are higher and HDL cholesterol it is lower in shift workers than in those who do not work that way. Although it has not been possible to establish a relationship between shift work and the metabolic syndrome, it is important to know that work by rotation of shifts is a factor that can favor the hormonal and metabolic alterations that cause health problems.