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. 2022 Nov 23;10:1034195. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1034195

Table 2.

Main results of systematic reviews focused on the link between shift work and lipid disorders.

References, Country Type - Shift work (n) Assessment of outcomes (n) Confounding factors (n) Main results shift work vs. day work (n)
Boggild and Knutsson (21), Nordic countries Unspecified (16) TC (16)
TG (12) measurements
HDL/LDL (3)
MD TC (16): no difference TC level (10); higher TC level for SW or different organizations of SW (5); lower TC for male SW, but no difference for women (1)
Significant changes between 3 and 20% in cholesterol (3)
HDL-C and LDL-C: no difference (3)
TG (12): No difference (8); higher TG for SW (4); higher values for counter clockwise than clockwise rotation (1)
Esquirol et al. (12), France Permanent night (5)
Rotating (18)
Unspecified (2)
TC (13)
TG (6)
HDL (8)
LDL (6) measurements,
HighTG (6)
LowHDL (6)
HighTC (3)
Self-reported highTC (1)
NA (8)
Adjustments (15)
TC: Longitudinal studies:
- no difference of Hypercholesterolemia (5); higher hypercholesterolemia in SW (2)
- TC mean increase in SW (1)
- TC level raised 14 years later ≥20/≥25/≥30/≥40%; OR = 1.16 (1.07–1.26)/1.16 (1.05–1.28)/1.11 (0.98–1.25)/1.30 (1.07–1.58) (2)
- Exposure duration: a 5% risk of 20% increase TC for SW> = 20 years (1); increase of TC level with exposure duration for SW ♂ ≥30 y but not ♀ ≥30 y SW (1)
TC: Cross-sectional studies: no difference of Hypercholesterolemia (5); higher Hypercholesterolemia in SW (1)
HDL-C: no difference of hypoHDLemia (7); higher hypoHDLemia (5)
LDL-C: no difference of LDLemia (5)
TG: no difference of Hypertriglyceridemia (3); higher hypertriglyceridemia in SW (6)
Proper et al. (14), Netherlands Permanent night (1)
Rotating (8)
Unspecified (3)
TC (7)
TG (4)
HDL (3)
LDL (1) measurements,
HighTG (3)
LowHDL (3)
HighTC (1)
LDL/HDL (1)
NA (3)
Adjustments (9)
TC: higher TC level (5); no difference of TC (5)
HDL-C, LDL-C, TG: positive association (5); no difference (5)
Dutheil et al. (22), France
Meta-analysis
Permanent night
Rotating
Unspecified
SMD or high level of TC, LDL, low level of HDL NA for main results TC increase: Only permanent night shift: SMD = 0.22 (0.01–0.42) p = 0.043, I2 60.3% (4)
Hypercholesterolemia: NS results
HDL-C decrease: Permanent night shift: SMD = −0.16 (−0.32 to 0.00), p = 0.05, I2 72.3%; Rotating 3 × 8 shift SMD = −0.10 (−0.17 to −0.02), p = 0.01, I2 78.8%; Non-specified shift: SMD = −0.08 (−0.15 to −0.01), p = 0.027, I2 81.7%;
HypoHDLemia: NS results
LDL-C increase: NS results
TG increase: permanent night shift SMD = 0.18 (0.03–0.33), p = 0.017, I2 73.8% (7); Rotating 3 × 8 shift SMD = 0.09 (0.03–0.16), p = 0.004, I2 73.6% (21)
Rotating 2 × 12 shift: SMD = 0.07 (0.01–0.13), p = 0.017, 31.6% (11); Unspecified shift SMD = 0.11 (0.03–0.18), p = 0.004, I2 80.9% (12)
Hypertriglyceridemia: OR = 1.12 (1.01–1.23), p < 0.001, I2 55.2%

(n), number of studies concerned; SW, shift work; HDL-C, High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol; LDL-C, Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol; TC, Total Cholesterol; TG, Total Triglycerides; SMD, standardized mean difference; MD, Missing Data; NA, Non Adjusted.