4 hours Ago
A recent study highlights how shift work, sleep debt, and night shifts increase the risk of infections among nurses, particularly the common cold. Study: Night work and sleep debt are associated with infections among Norwegian nurses . Image Credit: Shutterstock AI Generator / Shutterstock.
com A recent Chronobiology International study determines how sleep duration, sleep debt, and shift work impact the risk of infections among Norwegian nurses. How work schedules affect health The global workforce continuously operates to fulfill the growing demands of modern society. Many industries, including the healthcare sector, require that certain workers perform labor beyond standard working hours, which is otherwise known as shift work.
Current estimates indicate that approximately 25% of all employed individuals throughout the world are engaged in shift work. Although around-the-clock work is crucial to maintain the proper functioning of essential services, shift and night workers may be more vulnerable to adverse health consequences ranging from increased risk of certain cancers, cardiometabolic diseases, obesity, sleep problems, depression, and gastrointestinal (GI) diseases. In fact, several studies have reported that specific shift workers like nurses are especially vulnerable to the health risks associated with alternate work hours.
Night shift workers, particularly nurses, are more likely to experience poor sleep quality, short sleep duration, excessive sleepiness, and insomnia. Rest intervals of less than 11 hours between two consecutive shifts are referred to as quick returns (QRs). This unique characteristic of shift work, which is prevalent among healthcare professionals, negatively influences sleep patterns and daytime alertness.
Previous studies have shown that QRs are associated with a greater risk of ischemic heart disease, high workplace stress, increased susceptibility to injuries, daytime sleepiness, and fatigue. About the study The current study obtained data from the Survey of Shift Work, Sleep, and Health (SUSSH) study that comprised 5,400 randomly selected Norwegian nurses in 2008. The initial sample was stratified into five equal groups based on the number of years since graduation from nursing school.
To increase the sample size, newly graduated nurses were included in the study in 2009. A total of 2,964 nurses were recruited in the first wave of the SUSSH cohort. Data from wave 10 that was collected in 2018 were also included in the analysis.
Demographic data, work schedules, and average daily sleep duration in hours and minutes of the study participants were collected. Information on the number of times each participant contracted an infection over the last three months was also collected. All study participants reported their estimated number of night shifts (NNLs) and number of QRs worked in the last 12 months.
Night work, sleep debt, and infection risk in nurses Most of the nurses in the study cohort were women and married. The mean age of the study cohort was 41.9 years, approximately 70% of whom had children living at home.
Over 40% of worked schedules included night work. Related Stories Sleep disruption linked to inflammatory immune changes and health risks Shift work and sleep debt increase infection risk in nurses Want stable blood sugar? Go to bed earlier and sleep longer, study reveals Overall, 20.9% of the study cohort had no sleep debt, 72.
4% reported one to 120 minutes of sleep debt, and 6.7% had an average sleep debt of over two hours. About 74% of nurses reported at least one infection during the last three months.
As compared to nurses who worked during the day, night shift nurses were more likely to experience the common cold. However, no significant differences in the prevalence of other infections were observed between night and day working. Study participants between 30 and 45 years of age reported a significantly higher prevalence of infections as compared to those 46 years of age and older.
In addition to age, having children living at home was also associated with a higher prevalence of infection. Night work, NNLs, and QRs were not significantly associated with the overall frequency of infections. Most nurses slept for an average of six hours every night.
No significant association was observed between infection risk among study participants sleeping more than six hours each night as compared to those sleeping less than six hours. A significant association was observed between sleep debt and all infections except urinary tract infections. Sleep debt exhibited a dose-dependent relationship with a higher frequency of self-report infections.
As compared to those without sleep debt, nurses with more than two hours of sleep debt were more likely to experience the common cold and GI infections. Short sleep duration did not significantly increase the prevalence of self-reported infections. However, nurses with a sleep debt of one to 120 minutes were at a greater risk of pneumonia/bronchitis, sinusitis, and GI infections.
Nurses with more than two hours of sleep debt were at an even greater risk of the common cold, pneumonia/bronchitis, sinusitis, and GI infections. QRs did not significantly increase the odds ratio (OR) for any of the reported infections. Conclusions Although short sleep duration does not increase the prevalence of self-reported infections, night work increases the risk of the common cold among nurses.
No significant association was observed between sleep duration nor QRs and infections. In the future, additional experimental and longitudinal studies are needed to establish causality between these characteristics of shift work and infection risk. Hartveit Hosøy, D.
, Orner, P. B., Pallesen, S.
, et al . (2025) Night work and sleep debt are associated with infections among Norwegian nurses. Chronobiology International ; 1-10.
doi: 10.1080/07420528.2025.
2455147.
