Atypical Work Hours and Metabolic Syndrome Among Police Officers

ABSTRACT

This study examined whether atypical work hours are associated with metabolic syndrome among a random sample of 98 police officers. Shift work and overtime data from daily payroll records and reported sleep duration were obtained. Metabolic syndrome was defined as elevated waist circumference and triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, hypertension, and glucose intolerance. Multivariate analysis of variance and analysis of covariance models were used for analyses. Officers working midnight shifts were on average younger and had a slightly higher mean number of metabolic syndrome components. Stratification on sleep duration and overtime revealed significant associations between midnight shifts and the mean number of metabolic syndrome components among officers with less sleep (p = .013) and more overtime (p = .007). Results suggest shorter sleep duration and more overtime combined with midnight shift work may be important contributors to the metabolic syndrome.

KEYWORDS:

• cardiovascular disease
• overtime
• police officers
• shift work
• sleep

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (1R03OH003772-01). The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Notes

^aAdjusted for gender, age, smoking status, alcohol intake, education, marital status, rank, and physical activity score.