Employee control over scheduling of shifts and objectively measured working hour characteristics : a cross-sectional analysis of linked register and survey data

We aimed to study the association of perceived control over scheduling of shifts with objectively measured working hour characteristics in shift workers. The participants were 5128 hospital employees (91% women, 85% nursing personnel, average age 43 years) in period-based work (114:45h/3 weeks) from the 2015 Finnish Public Sector study. Survey responses to a measure of control over scheduling of shifts were linked to payroll data on working hour characteristics during the 91 days preceding the survey. We used multinomial logistic regression to assess differences in dichotomized proportion of working hour characteristics (being full-time worker, number of work shifts, long work weeks (>40h and >48h/week), long work shifts (>12-h), evening and night shifts, quick returns (4 consecutive work shifts, and variability of shift length with cut points at 10% or 25% between employees with high, intermediate, or low control over scheduling of shifts. Analyses were adjusted for age, sex, education, full-/part-time work (where applicable), duration of shift work experience, perceived work ability, children 25%) of weekend work was lower among employees with low control over scheduling of shifts compared to high control (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.61-0.93). High proportion (>25%) of having >4 consecutive work shifts was associated with lower control over scheduling of shifts (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.13-1.62). Variability of shift length was lower among employees with intermediate and low control over scheduling of shifts compared to those with high control (OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.66-0.93; OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.51-0.75, respectively). No association was observed between the level of control over scheduling of shifts and high proportion of long work weeks (>25% of >40h weeks and >10% of >48h weeks), long work shifts (>25%), quick returns (>25%), single days off (>25%), and evening or night shifts (>10%) in the whole sample. In subgroup analyses, women with low control over scheduling shifts had lower odds ratio (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.37-0.91) and men had higher odds ratio (OR 2.97, 95% CI 1.26-6.98) for large proportion of >12-h shifts. In conclusion, the employees with high control over scheduling of shifts had slightly more often unsocial working hour characteristics than those with intermediate or low control over scheduling of shifts. The findings, however, suggest that good work time control in shift work can be possible without compromising shift ergonomics.Peer reviewe

Associations between shift work and use of prescribed medications for the treatment of hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia : a prospective cohort study

Objective This study examined the associations between shift work and use of antihypertensive, lipid-lowering, and antidiabetic medications. Methods Survey data from two cohorts of Finnish men (N=11998) and women (N=49 944) working in multiple occupations where shift work was used were linked to national Drug Prescription Register data, with up to 11 years of follow-up. In each cohort, age-stratified Cox proportional hazard regression models were computed to examine any incident use of prescription medication for each of the three medical conditions, separately comparing each of two groups of rotating shift workers (those whose schedules included night shifts. and those whose schedules did not include night shifts) with day workers who worked in a similar range of occupations. Results In the larger cohort, among participants aged 40-49 at baseline, shift work without night shifts was associated with increased use of type-2 diabetes medication after adjustments for sex, occupational status, marital status, alcohol consumption, smoking, and physical activity [hazard ratio (HR) 1.28, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.62], while shift work with night shifts was associated with increased use of dyslipidemia medication after adjustments (HR 1.33, 95% CI 1.12-1.57). There were no such associations among younger and older shift workers. Also in the larger cohort, among those aged Conclusions There was mixed evidence regarding the use of medications for cardiovascular risk factors by shift workers. Selection effects may have affected the associations.Peer reviewe

Association of rotating shift work schedules and the use of prescribed sleep medication: A prospective cohort study

We examined whether working rotating shifts, with or without night work, is associated with the purchase of prescribed sleep medication, and whether the association is dependent on age. Data were obtained from a longitudinal cohort study of Finnish public sector employees who responded to questions on work schedule and background characteristics in 2000, 2004 and 2008. The data were linked to national register data on redeemed prescriptions of hypnotic and sedative medications, with up to 11 years of follow-up. Age stratified Cox proportional hazard regression models were computed to examine incident use of medication comparing two groups of rotating shift workers (those working shifts that included night shifts and those whose schedules did not include night shifts) with day workers who worked in a similar range of occupations. Shift work with night shifts was associated with increased use of sleep medication in all age groups, after adjustments for sex, occupational status, marital status, alcohol consumption, smoking and physical activity levels (hazard ratio [HR], [95% confidence interval, CI] 1.14 [1.01-1.28] for age group = 50 years). Shift work without nights was associated with medication use in the two older age groups (HR [95% CI] 1.14 [1.01-1.29] and 1.17 [1.05-1.31] for age groups 40-49 years and >50 years, respectively). These findings suggest that circadian disruption and older age puts rotating shift workers, and especially those who work nights, at increased risk of developing clinically significant levels of sleep problems

Heparanase 1 Upregulation Promotes Tumor Progression and Is a Predictor of Low Survival for Oral Cancer

Background: Oral cavity cancer is still an important public health problem throughout the world. Oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) can be quite aggressive and metastatic, with a low survival rate and poor prognosis. However, this is usually related to the clinical stage and histological grade, and molecular prognostic markers for clinical practice are yet to be defined. Heparanase (HPSE1) is an endoglycosidase associated with extracellular matrix remodeling, and although involved in several malignancies, the clinical implications of HPSE1 expression in OSCCs are still unknown.Methods: We sought to investigate HPSE1 expression in a series of primary OSCCs and further explore whether its overexpression plays a relevant role in OSCC tumorigenesis. mRNA and protein expression analyses were performed in OSCC tissue samples and cell lines. A loss-of-function strategy using shRNA and a gain-of-function strategy using an ORF vector targeting HPSE1 were employed to investigate the endogenous modulation of HPSE1 and its effects on proliferation, apoptosis, adhesion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), angiogenesis, migration, and invasion of oral cancer in vitro.Results: We demonstrated that HPSE1 is frequently upregulated in OSCC samples and cell lines and is an unfavorable prognostic indicator of disease-specific survival when combined with advanced pT stages. Moreover, abrogation of HPSE1 in OSCC cells significantly promoted apoptosis and inhibited proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition by significantly decreasing the expression of N-cadherin and vimentin. Furthermore, a conditioned medium of HPSE1-downregulated cells resulted in reduced vascular endothelial growth.Conclusion: Our results confirm the overexpression of HPSE1 in OSCCs, suggest that HPSE1 expression correlates with disease progression as it is associated with several important biological processes for oral tumorigenesis, and can be managed as a prognostic marker for patients with OSCC.Peer reviewe

Editorial : Prognostic biomarkers for oral cancer

Peer reviewe

Combination treatment in Chlamydia-triggered reactive arthritis: Comment on the article by Carter et al

Lauhio A, Saikku P, Salo T, Tschesche H, Lähdevirta J, Sorsa T. Combination treatment in Chlamydia-triggered reactive arthritis: Comment on the article by Carter et al. Arthritis & Rheumatism. 2011;63(1):305-307