Relationship between shift work and hypercholesterolemia in Japan
对5510名日本男性钢铁工人进行14年队列研究，发现轮班工作可能是高胆固醇血症的潜在风险因素，但统计模型分层评估后关联不一致。
OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to clarify the influence of shift work on total cholesterol levels in serum in male Japanese workers. METHODS: Pooled logistic regression analyses were applied in this 14-year cohort study of 5510 male workers in a steel company. In examining how the adjustments influenced the results, the effect of shift work on the onset of hypercholesterolemia (>or=220 mg/dl, 5.7 mmol/l) was calculated by adjusting only for age (step 1), for age and lifestyle factors (drinking habit, smoking habit, habitual exercise) (step 2), for age, body mass index (BMI), and the laboratory data [creatinine, glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), aspartic aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (gamma-GTP), uric acid] (step 3), and for age, BMI, lifestyle factors, and the laboratory data (step 4). RESULTS: The odds ratio (OR) for shift work with respect to the onset of hypercholesterolemia was significant in step 4 [OR 1.10, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.00-1.21, P-value 0.048], whereas the corresponding odds ratios in steps 1, 2, and 3 were not significant. In step 4, the other significant covariates were age (OR 1.01, 95% CI 1.00-1.02), BMI (OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.05-1.09), HbA1c (OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.02-1.11), gamma-GTP (OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.02-1.04) and alcohol consumption (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.81-0.99). CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, shift work was shown to be a potential risk factor for hypercholesterolemia among male Japanese workers. However, no consistent association was found between shift work and hypercholesterolemia in the hierarchical evaluation of the statistical model. The present study could not provide well-established evidence for a relationship between shift work and hypercholesterolemia.