Shift Work is Associated with an Elevated White Blood Cell Count: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Feb 23, 2024Indian journal of occupational and environmental medicine

Shift Work Is Linked to Higher White Blood Cell Counts

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Abstract

A significant increase in total white blood cell counts in shift workers was found, with a mean difference of 0.43 × 10/L compared to day workers.

Shift workers exhibited higher counts of lymphocytes, monocytes, and eosinophils compared to day workers.
Lymphocyte counts showed a mean difference of 0.16, while monocyte and eosinophil counts had mean differences of 0.04 and 0.01, respectively.
Neutrophil and basophil counts were not significantly different between shift workers and day workers.
The findings suggest that total and differential white blood cell counts may serve as biomarkers for health issues in shift workers.
This analysis included data from 25 studies involving a total of 37,708 participants across multiple regions including America, Europe, East Asia, and the Middle East.

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The white blood cell (WBC) count increases significantly in reaction to infections and certain chronic diseases. Shift employment increases the risk for chronic low-grade inflammation and the progression of several chronic diseases. The objective of this study was to systematically evaluate the evidence from studies on total and differential WBC counts in shift employees. A literature search was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases using keywords for research published before March 1, 2022. A meta-analysis was conducted for total and differential WBC counts using a random-effects approach. A total of 25 studies covering a sample of 37,708 day and shift employees were included in this review. The studies represented America, Europe, East Asia, and Middle East. A significant increase in the total counts (×10/L) of WBC [mean difference (MD) = 0.43; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.34-0.52;< 0.001], lymphocytes (MD = 0.16; 95% CI: 0.02-0.30;= 0.02), monocytes (MD = 0.04; 95% CI: 0-0.07;= 0.03), and eosinophils (MD = 0.01; 95% CI: 0-0.01;= 0.03) was observed in shift workers compared to the day counterparts. However, neutrophils and basophils were not significantly different between the groups. Shift work significantly increases the total and differential blood counts in peripheral circulation. Therefore, total and differential WBC counts represent a relatively inexpensive biomarker for diagnostics and prognostics of diseases in shift workers. ® 9P P P P

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Shift Work is Associated with an Elevated White Blood Cell Count: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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