Abstract
BackgroundExposure to shift work has been associated with negative health consequences, although the association between shift work and sickness absence remains unclear. The aim of this study is to investigate associations between cumulative exposure to shift work and sickness absence among ground staff employees of an airline company.MethodsThis study used data from the MORE (Monitoring Occupational Health Risks in Employees) cohort, which is a 5-year historic cohort. The population of the present study consisted of 7562 ground staff employees. For each employee, work schedules and sickness absence days between 2005 and 2009 were obtained from company records. For the exposure to different shift schedule types and to the cumulative number of night shifts, the association with long-term sickness absence (>7 consecutive sickness absence days) and the number of sickness absence episodes during 2009, was calculated using logistic and Poisson regression analyses. Socio-demographic variables, work-related variables, job classification variables, and previous sickness absence days were regarded as confounders.ResultsAfter adjusting for previous sickness absence and job classification variables, only the group of employees that switched into working in a three-shift schedule, showed a significantly increased risk for long-term sickness absence (OR = 1.31, 95%CI 1.02–1.69). Night shift exposure was not significantly associated with long-term sickness absence. Exposure to shift work was negatively associated with more sickness absence episodes. Employees who were exposed to more than 46 night shifts also showed a lower risk for more sickness absence episodes. Subgroup analyses showed that single employees and employees without children had an increased risk for long-term sickness absence when exposed to a three-shift schedule, and when they had changed between shift schedule types.ConclusionsCumulative exposure to shift work proved to be negatively associated with more sickness absence episodes, and was not associated with more long-term sickness absence, although selection bias could not be ruled out. Future research should explore the influence of household composition, and take into account both previous sickness absence and psychosocial and physical work factors to obtain a better estimation of the association between shift work and sickness absence.
Highlights
Exposure to shift work has been associated with negative health consequences, the association between shift work and sickness absence remains unclear
In both the semi-adjusted and the fully adjusted model, all shift schedule types had a lower incidence risk ratio (IRR) for the number of sickness absence episodes, compared to the group that worked during the day
Whereas common time with the family might counteract the negative effects of rotating shift work, this might not hold true for single or childless employees, as we found that these employees who worked in a three-shift schedule had a higher risk for long-term sickness absence, compared to singles or people without children in day work
Summary
Exposure to shift work has been associated with negative health consequences, the association between shift work and sickness absence remains unclear. The aim of this study is to investigate associations between cumulative exposure to shift work and sickness absence among ground staff employees of an airline company. Exposure to shift work has become an important topic in occupational health as it has been associated with negative consequences for the employee. Sickness absence is considered to be a risk factor for health deterioration and mortality [15, 16], and can have unfavourable financial consequences for the individual, employer and society [17, 18]. Long-term sickness absence can be associated with future sickness absence, an increased risk for work disability, and both social and financial problems [17, 18, 23, 24]. Short-term sickness absence, on the other hand, can be part of a behavioural pattern, or of a coping strategy to prevent long-term sickness absence [20, 25]
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