Vitamin D supply in shift working nurses

ABSTRACT

We studied determinants of Vitamin D in serum of 67 female health care workers (aged 25–60 years), including age, body mass index, physical activity, and shift work. Overall, vitamin D levels were low, ranging from 6 to 51 ng/mL (median: 20 ng/mL). Lower serum levels were found in samples drawn in winter and spring and in obese subjects. Shift work had only small effects on vitamin D levels.

The high prevalence of vitamin D undersupply is in line with observations from the German general population. Vitamin D supply particularly in winter and spring should be ensured to avoid health problems.

KEYWORDS:

• Night work
• cohort
• biomarker
• calciferol
• cross sectional study

Conflict of interest

The authors do not declare any conflict of interest. As staff of the Institute for Prevention and Occupational Medicine (IPA), authors are employed at the “Berufsgenossenschaft Rohstoffe und chemische Industrie” (BG RCI), a public body, which is a member of the study’s main sponsor, the German Social Accident Insurance. IPA is an independent research institute of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum. The authors are independent from the German Social Accident Insurance in study design, access to the collected data, responsibility for data analysis and interpretation, and the right to publish. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the sponsor.