Shift work, long working hours, and physical labour in relation to menstrual function: the Nurses' Health Study 3

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chavarro J ; Grajewski, Barbara A. ; Hibert EL ; Johnson C ; Lawson C ; Rich-Edwards J ; Rocheleau C ; Schernhammer E ; Whelan, Elizabeth A.
• Description:
  Objectives: We investigated associations between nursing occupational exposures and menstrual cycle regularity and cycle length. Method: Cross-sectional data were collected in 2010-2012 from 6309 nurses aged 21 to 45 from the Nurses' Health Study 3. We used multivariable regression modelling to analyse the associations between occupational exposures and prevalence of irregular cycles and long and short cycle lengths. Results: Cycle length was recorded as <21 days (1.5%), 21-25 days (15.6%), 26-31 days (69.7%), and 32-50 days (13.2%). In addition, 19% of participants reported irregular cycles. Working more than 41 h/week was associated with a 16% [95% confidence interval (CI): 4-29%] higher prevalence of irregular cycles and a higher prevalence of very short (<21 day) cycles [prevalence odds ratio (OR) 1.93, 95% CI: 1.24-3.01]. Irregular menstrual cycles were more prevalent among women working nights only (32% higher) or rotating nights (27% higher), and their prevalence was associated with the number of night shifts per month (p for trend <0.0001). Rotating night shift was also associated with long (32-50 day) cycles (OR 1.28, 95% CI 1.03-1.61). In addition, heavy lifting was associated with a higher prevalence of irregular cycles (34% higher), and the prevalence of cycles <21 days and 21-25 day cycles increased with increasing amount of heavy lifting at work (p for trend <0.02 for each endpoint). Conclusions: Night work, long working hours, and occupational physical labour might play a role in menstrual function disturbances. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aging Health Personnel Menstruation Disturbances Occupational Health Safety Shift Work Schedule Women Workplace
• Keywords:
  Age-groups Exposure-levels Humans Manual-lifting Menstrual-disorders Models Nurses Physical-reactions Physiological-effects Shift-work Shift-workers Statistical-analysis Work-environment Workers

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• ISSN:
  1351-0711
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; Massachusetts ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 1 ; 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
• Volume:
  71
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20044623
• Citation:
  Occup Environ Med 2014 Jun; 71(Suppl 1):A13
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• NORA Priority Area:
  Healthcare and Social Assistance
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Challenges for Occupational Epidemiology in the 21st Century, EPICOH 2014, June 24-27, 2014, Chicago, Illinois
• Supplement:
  1
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2d79d7e5892b39c0e3c21cc8c7a5873e57304a59ca4da889edbb2a1aa7d01fdcf05cf1f78b5d544c1fdbe4e717c993ee5fb34f1b490cc7987915454690f9522d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/200289/cdc_200289_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 75.70 KB ]