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A meta-analysis of cohort studies including dose-response relationship between shift work and the risk of diabetes mellitus

European Journal of Epidemiology volume 34, pages 1013–1024 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

Previous reviews have suggested that shift work is associated with an increased risk of diabetes mellitus (DM); however, the results should be interpreted with caution due to differences in study designs and non-comprehensive literature searches. In addition, the quantitative dose-response relationship between years of shift work and DM risk is still unknown. We aimed to conduct an updated meta-analysis with cohort studies and to evaluate the relationship between the duration of shift work and the risk of DM in a dose-dependent manner. The PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched through 15 August 2019, and multivariate-adjusted relative risks (RRs) were pooled using random-effects models. Restricted cubic spline analysis with three knots was used to explore the relationship of years of shift work and risk of DM. Twelve cohort studies with 28 independent reports involving 244,266 participants and 15,906 DM cases were included. The summarized adjusted RR for the relationship between shift work and DM risk was 1.14 (95% CI 1.10 to 1.19; I2 = 38.9%, P = 0.028). The summary RR of a 5-year increase in shift work was 1.07 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.09), without heterogeneity (I2= 0.0%, P = 0.829) for the female population. Shift work is associated with an increased risk of DM, and a strong and highly significant linear dose-response relationship between the duration of shift work and the risk of DM in women was observed. Further studies are needed to confirm the results, establish causality and elucidate the underlying mechanisms.

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Funding

The study was supported by the Young Scientists Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81903291), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2019kfyXJJS032), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2019T120666), and Key project of Wuhan Municipal Health Committee (WG16B08). The funding source had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

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Author notes

  1. Dongming Wang and Zuxun Lu have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No. 13 Hangkong Road, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, People’s Republic of China

    Wenzhen Li & Zuxun Lu

  2. Wuhan Prevention and Treatment Center for Occupational Diseases, Wuhan, 430015, Hubei, People’s Republic of China

    Zhenlong Chen & Guilin Yi

  3. Shangluo Central Hospital, Shangluo, 726000, Shanxi, People’s Republic of China

    Wenyu Ruan

  4. Department of Occupational & Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, People’s Republic of China

    Dongming Wang

  5. Key Laboratory of Environment and Health Ministry of Education & Ministry of Environmental Protection, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, People’s Republic of China

    Dongming Wang

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  1. Wenzhen Li
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Contributions

WZL proposed the study. WZL, DMW and WYR performed the searching, data extraction, and quality assessment. ZXL helped to develop search strategies. WZL analyzed the data. WZL wrote the first manuscript; DMW, ZLC and GLY revised the draft. All authors contributed to reviewing or revising the paper and read and approved the final version.

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Correspondence to Dongming Wang or Zuxun Lu.

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Data for the present meta-analysis were acquired through previously published articles, and the study did not involve participants or patients.

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Li, W., Chen, Z., Ruan, W. et al. A meta-analysis of cohort studies including dose-response relationship between shift work and the risk of diabetes mellitus. Eur J Epidemiol 34, 1013–1024 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-019-00561-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-019-00561-y

Keywords

  • Shift work
  • Diabetes mellitus
  • Cohort
  • Meta-analysis
  • Dose-response relationship