Association between shift work and being overweight or obese among health care workers in a clinical setting in Medellin, Colombia.

BACKGROUND: Shift work is common in health care settings and has been hypothesized as a risk factor for being overweight or obese. We examined the relation between shift work and being overweight or obese, adjusting for stress and lifestyle habits in Colombian health care workers.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the association between shift work and being overweight/obese in employees of a health care setting in Medellin, Colombia.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study was carried out among 200 workers in a health care setting. Participants completed a demographic, occupational, work-related stress and life style questionnaire. Their Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist to hip ratio were also measured.

RESULTS: The study sample consisted of 160 (80%) females and 40 (20%) males. Mean age was 35.1±9.1 years and mean BMI was 25±3.9. After adjusting for potential confounders, multivariate logistic regression revealed no statistically significant association between being overweight, being obese or waist to hip ratio and shift work; 95% CI OR: 1.08 (0.62-1.89), 1.33 (0.44-3.99) and 1.2 (0.8-1.9), respectively. Day workers were statistically more likely to smoke, work more hours, and have a higher educational level than shift workers.

CONCLUSIONS: No significant associations between shift work and being overweight/obese were observed in health care workers in a Colombian setting. These findings need to be confirmed through longitudinal studies.