Evaluation of the Diurnal Cycle of Blood Pressure and Sleep in Shift Workers.
Cureus 2023;
15:e48029. [PMID:
38034193 PMCID:
PMC10687815 DOI:
10.7759/cureus.48029]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Circadian misalignment of physiological factors in shift workers is poorly studied in the Indian population. In the present study, 24-hour blood pressure measurements were taken on the same subject twice, once during his morning and night shifts. Sleep was also monitored by a self-reported sleep diary, which was confirmed with an activity monitor, and the sleep quality was assessed using sleep questionnaires.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to discover the pattern of blood pressure variation, the dipping and non-dipping status, and its correlation with sleep.
METHODOLOGY
This observational study was conducted in the Department of Physiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh, from April 2019 to September 2019, among security guards working rotating shifts in the Rishikesh hospital premises. Participants were given an activity sheet with instructions to document their daily activities for a complete 24-hour period on the designated measurement day, including recording the time of waking up and going to sleep. A wrist-worn activity monitor was utilised to assess the self-reported sleep duration provided by each participant on the activity sheet.
RESULTS
The present study showed the mean age of the participants as 27.03 ± 2.71 years, along with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 22.10 ± 1.64. Sleep duration was significantly higher during the morning shift (5.81 ± 1.08 hours) compared to the night shift (4.02 ± 1.70 hours) on the day of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) recording. The mean difference in systolic blood pressure between night shift workers between their awake and sleep periods was 15.91 ± 8.44 mmHg. However, no statistically significant disparity was seen when comparing the systolic blood pressure at the 24-hour mark during wakefulness and sleep between those working morning and night shifts (p >0.05).
CONCLUSION
The current study's findings indicate that participation in shift work, particularly night shift work, could potentially play a role in the emergence of irregular circadian blood pressure patterns and potentially lead to a lack of nocturnal blood pressure decline.
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