Shift work increases the risk of COVID-19 infection

Shift workers are up to three times more likely to be infected with COVID-19, compared to people who work 9-17, according to a study by British scientists. At the moment they are unable to explain the reasons for this link, but the main “suspect” is possibly a dysregulated biological clock.

1. Doctors from Great Britain The United Kingdom checked whether and how the work mode influences the risk of COVID-19 infection
2. They analyzed data on almost 300 thousand. British workers
3. It turned out that the more irregular and shift work, the greater the risk of contracting the coronavirus
4. More information can be found on the Onet homepage

Shift work increases the risk of COVID-19

Shift work increases the likelihood of a positive COVID-19 result. This is the result of research conducted by The University of Manchester, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford and the University of West Indies, and published in the journal “Thorax”.

Shift work was defined in this study as working in a time frame other than 9-17. It is estimated that around a quarter of the UK workforce is in shift work.

Researchers, led by Dr. John Blaikley and Dr. Hannah Durrington, clinicians at the University of Manchester, used data from the British Biobank. They took a closer look at 284 thousand. 27 people, of which 235 thous. 135 did not work in shifts, and 48 The 892 operated – regularly or not – in this manner.

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6 thousand 442 people from this pool were in hospitals from March to August 2020 and were tested for COVID-19 there. 498 positive results were obtained – in 182 cases this concerned shift workers.

Based on this, researchers calculated that shift workers were 2 to 3 times more likely to suffer from COVID-19 than workers who work 9 am-17pm.

This risk of falling ill depends on the type of shift work (permanent shift work, irregular shift work, regular and irregular night shift work). People who had irregular night shift work were most likely to be infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Shift work and COVID-19. Why is this happening?

“ This study shows a fairly strong link between shift work and COVID-19 hospitalization, even after considering existing risk factors for coronavirus, ” said Dr. John Blaikley.

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“It is difficult to explain the exact cause of this relationship,” the doctor added.

The main causes, however, are seen in the dysregulated biological clock, which adversely affects immune systemas well as the fatigue resulting from this mode of operation. The authors of the study also refer to the data showing that shift work increases the risk of diseases such as obesity, diabetes, asthma, cancer and heart disease.

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