Relationship between night work and anthropometric indices of nurses

Background and Objectives: Overnight due to disturbance in the body s biological rhythms can cause problems in physiological, social, and familial functioning. One of thenighttime side effects is the possibility of obesity that increases the risk of some diseases. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between night works with anthropometric indices of nurses. Methods and Materials: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 325 female nurses working in hospitals affiliated to Guilan University of Medical Sciences with mean age of 27.78 + 4.92 which were selected by simple random sampling. Data collection tools included standard weights and meters and a researcher-made questionnaire. Anthropometric indices included body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Overnight was defined as the number of nights last month and the number of nights in current month. Statistical analysis was performed using descriptive tests, Pearson correlation coefficient and partial correlation using SPSS 16. Results: The results showed that 70.7% of the study units had a BMI between 18.5 to 25 and 51.4% had a WHR of 75% to 85%. After eliminating the effect of age, no statistically significant relationship was observed between night work and anthropometric indices. Conclusions: The results of the present study do not provide sufficient evidence for the association between overnight work and obesity. Therefore, longitudinal studies with comparison group, similar studies in different night programs and on male nurses and systematic review of existing studies are recommended.

Keywords:

Night work , Anthropometric Indices , Nurses