Visual evoked potential changes among security guards of Government Medical College and New Civil Hospital, Surat

Abstract

Background: Sleep interruption and disturbance of circadian rhythm are inevitable phenomena among night shift workers. A very few evidence is available that describing effects of sleep disturbance and its effect on the visual pathway by measuring the visual evoke potential parameters. Aims and Objectives: To study the change in visual evoked potential (VEP) due to disturbance of circadian rhythm among rotating shift workers. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was done on 80 security guards of 20-40 years of age working in Government Medical College and New Civil Hospital of Surat. They were divided into two groups comprising of 40 participants. Group 1 comprised of 40 security guards who did rotating night shift for more than 6 months and Group 2 include 40 security guards who did not perform any night shift duty for the past 2 years. VEP test was done, and results of both groups were compared with each other. Result: The result showed that there was statistically significant (P 0.05). Pearson correlation revealed, as the head circumference increases, latency of VEP increases, and amplitude decreases. Conclusion: Alteration in circadian rhythm affected the parameters of VEP in a negative way. In long-term, it may impair their general health. Furthermore, further study is required to support this conclusion.