A study conducted by scientists from the University of Manchester in Britain has shown that women who work night shifts may be exposed to serious health complications.
ERJ Open Research noted that scientists at the university analyzed data from 274,000 working people, obtained from the UK Biobank, during their study. Their study showed that women who work night shifts are more likely to develop moderate to severe asthma than those who work only during the day.
During the study, researchers divided people's data into three categories based on their work schedule: those who worked day shifts only, those who worked night shifts, and those with a mixed day-night schedule. Of the people studied, 5.3% had typical asthma, while 1.9% had chronic asthma requiring the constant use of inhalers and antihistamines.
The analysis results showed that women who work night shifts or mixed day and night shifts face a 50% higher risk of developing moderate or severe asthma compared to their counterparts who work only day shifts. However, the same relationship between night shifts and increased asthma risk was not observed in men.
The researchers noted that the observational nature of their study and data analysis did not allow them to determine a direct causal relationship between night work and asthma. However, it is possible that night shifts may have an impact on the body's hormonal balance, which could contribute to the exacerbation of respiratory problems such as asthma, especially in women.
