Association of rotating shift work schedules and the use of prescribed sleep medication: A prospective cohort study

Jun 15, 2021Journal of sleep research

Link Between Rotating Shift Work and Using Prescribed Sleep Medicine Over Time

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Abstract

Shift work that includes night shifts is associated with a 1.33 times higher risk of purchasing sleep medication for workers aged 40-49 years.

The use of sleep medication is linked to rotating shift work, particularly for those who work night shifts.
All age groups showed increased medication use associated with night shift work, with the highest risk in the 40-49 age group.
Shift work without night shifts is also linked to increased sleep medication use, but primarily in older age groups (40-49 and >50 years).
Adjustments were made for factors such as sex, occupational status, marital status, and lifestyle behaviors.

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We examined whether working rotating shifts, with or without night work, is associated with the purchase of prescribed sleep medication, and whether the association is dependent on age. Data were obtained from a longitudinal cohort study of Finnish public sector employees who responded to questions on work schedule and background characteristics in 2000, 2004 and 2008. The data were linked to national register data on redeemed prescriptions of hypnotic and sedative medications, with up to 11 years of follow-up. Age stratified Cox proportional hazard regression models were computed to examine incident use of medication comparing two groups of rotating shift workers (those working shifts that included night shifts and those whose schedules did not include night shifts) with day workers who worked in a similar range of occupations. Shift work with night shifts was associated with increased use of sleep medication in all age groups, after adjustments for sex, occupational status, marital status, alcohol consumption, smoking and physical activity levels (hazard ratio [HR], [95% confidence interval, CI] 1.14 [1.01-1.28] for age group ≤39 years; 1.33 [1.19-1.48] for age group 40-49 years; 1.28 [1.13-1.44] for age group ≥50 years). Shift work without nights was associated with medication use in the two older age groups (HR [95% CI] 1.14 [1.01-1.29] and 1.17 [1.05-1.31] for age groups 40-49 years and >50 years, respectively). These findings suggest that circadian disruption and older age puts rotating shift workers, and especially those who work nights, at increased risk of developing clinically significant levels of sleep problems.

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Association of rotating shift work schedules and the use of prescribed sleep medication: A prospective cohort study

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