Long-Term Shift Work May Drain the Brain, Study Reports
Rotating shifts for more than 10 years seemed to have the biggest impact, researchers say
MONDAY, Nov. 3, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Working non-standard hours -- often called "shift work" -- for many years is not only hard on the body, but may also dull the mind, new research suggests.
According to the study, those who do shift work for more than 10 years seem to have the equivalent of an extra 6.5 years of age-related decline in memory and thinking skills.
This study, however, only found an association between shift work and impairments in memory and thinking (sometimes called "cognition"). It didn't prove that shift work was the definitive cause of those changes.
"Our work suggests that shift work is associated with impaired cognition, that the association is stronger and especially significant for exposure durations exceeding 10 years, and finally, and maybe most importantly, that the effect persists after having ceased any form of shift-work schedule," said Jean-Claude Marquie, research director at the National Center for Scientific Research, at the University of Toulouse, France.
Recovery of thinking skills took at least five years, his study found.
Past research has shown that shift work can affect alertness and thinking and memory. Fewer studies have looked at whether there is a chronic impact, according to background information in the new report.
To get a better idea of the possible long-term effects, Marquie and colleagues tracked the mental abilities of more than 3,000 people from different regions in France who were employed in a wide range of sectors or who had retired. The researchers evaluated the study participants in 1996, 2001 and 2006.
The men and women were aged 32, 42, 52 and 62 when they took the first set of tests to gauge memory, processing speed and overall thinking ability. About half of the study participants had done shift work at least 50 days of the year.
More than 1,000 current and retired employees worked a rotating shift pattern that switched back and forth among morning, afternoons and nights, according to the study.
Overall, shift workers had lower memory, thinking and processing speed scores than those who had worked only standard hours, the investigators found.
Long-Term Shift Work May Drain the Brain: Study
Rotating shifts for more than 10 years seemed to have the biggest impact, researchers say
MONDAY, Nov. 3, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Working non-standard hours -- often called "shift work" -- for many years is not only hard on the body, but may also dull the mind, new research suggests.
According to the study, those who do shift work for more than 10 years seem to have the equivalent of an extra 6.5 years of age-related decline in memory and thinking skills.
This study, however, only found an association between shift work and impairments in memory and thinking (sometimes called "cognition"). It didn't prove that shift work was the definitive cause of those changes.
"Our work suggests that shift work is associated with impaired cognition, that the association is stronger and especially significant for exposure durations exceeding 10 years, and finally, and maybe most importantly, that the effect persists after having ceased any form of shift-work schedule," said Jean-Claude Marquie, research director at the National Center for Scientific Research, at the University of Toulouse, France.
Recovery of thinking skills took at least five years, his study found.
Past research has shown that shift work can affect alertness and thinking and memory. Fewer studies have looked at whether there is a chronic impact, according to background information in the new report.
To get a better idea of the possible long-term effects, Marquie and colleagues tracked the mental abilities of more than 3,000 people from different regions in France who were employed in a wide range of sectors or who had retired. The researchers evaluated the study participants in 1996, 2001 and 2006.
The men and women were aged 32, 42, 52 and 62 when they took the first set of tests to gauge memory, processing speed and overall thinking ability. About half of the study participants had done shift work at least 50 days of the year.
More than 1,000 current and retired employees worked a rotating shift pattern that switched back and forth among morning, afternoons and nights, according to the study.
Overall, shift workers had lower memory, thinking and processing speed scores than those who had worked only standard hours, the investigators found.
SHARE
