Measuring and Identifying Large-Study Metrics for Circadian Rhythm Disruption in Female Flight Attendants

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cole RJ ; Grajewski, Barbara A. ; Hein, Misty J. ; Nguyen M ; Whelan, Elizabeth A.
• Description:
  Flight attendants can experience circadian rhythm disruption due to travel through multiple time zones. The objectives of this study were to determine whether flight attendants are more likely than teachers (comparison group) to experience circadian disruption, as measured by melatonin production, and to identify metrics of circadian disruption for epidemiologic studies of reproductive health in which biomonitoring is infeasible. Each day, for one menstrual cycle, 45 flight attendants and 26 teachers kept a daily diary, collected and measured their overnight urine, and wore an activity monitor to assess sleep displacement. The relation between melatonin production and flight attendant and teacher status was analyzed with linear and multiple logistic regression. The relation between sleep displacement, melatonin, and flight-history-derived variables (including time zones crossed) were examined with exploratory factor analyses. Flight attendants experience increased circadian disruption, as measured by a highter adjusted melatonin rate variance, than teachers [2.8 x 10(5) versus 1.0 x 10(5) (ng/hour)(2), respectively; P=0.04] and are more likely to be in the highest quartile of melatonin variance (odds ratio 2.3; 95% confidence interval 0.6-9.1). In the factor analysis, the number of time zones crossed was related to both melatonin desynchronization and sleep displacement. Flight attendants experience increased circadian disruption, as measured by more variable melatonin rates, than a minimally flying comparison group. For epidemiologic studies of flight crews in which melatonin measurement is infeasible, the number of time zones crossed is a useful indicator of both sleep displacement and melatonin desynchronization. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aircraft Circadian Rhythm Endocrine System Occupational Health Safety Sleep Sleep Initiation And Maintenance Disorders Urogenital Diseases Urogenital System Women Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Aerospace Environment Aerospace Medicine Aircrews Author Keywords: Aerospace Medicine Biological Rhythms Body Mechanics Circadian Rhythm Circadian Rhythms Flight Personnel Hormone Activity Hormones Jet Lag Syndrome Melatonin Reproductive System Reproductive System Disorders Sleep Deprivation Sleep Disorders Work Environment Work Schedule Tolerance

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• ISSN:
  0355-3140
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  337-346
• Volume:
  29
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20023612
• Citation:
  Scand J Work Environ Health 2003 Oct; 29(5):337-346
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr Barbara Grajewski, NIOSH (R-13), 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226, USA
• Email:
  bag2@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2004
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e43d63755347d3f4d70906a361bdb45300740bd1b135f400f57371eed33e9b5edfd8c3dcf0b4746b95f12e6a06330bab18fa163d72aafe542d804b16d6e30003
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/195947/cdc_195947_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 99.22 KB ]