MS risk doubled in shiftworking teens
1 November 2011
Teenagers who work the night shift for 3 or more years double their risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), Swedish research suggests (Annals of Neurology 2011; online 18 Oct).
The research, combining 2 studies that compared people with MS and controls (people without MS), point to a similar added risk. The first study compared 1343 people newly diagnosed with MS with 2900 controls, while the second compared 5129 MS-affected people with 4509 controls.
"Our analysis revealed a significant association between working shifts at a young age and occurrence of MS," the authors said, noting sleep loss and disruption of circadian rhythm (the 24-hour 'body clock') may be to blame.
"Given the association was observed in two independent studies [this] strongly supports a true relationship between shiftwork and disease risk."
Last Reviewed: 04 November 2011
- 1. Hedstrom AK, Akerstedt T, Hillert J, et al. Shift work at young age is associated with increased risk for multiple sclerosis. Ann Neurol 2011 Oct 17. [Epub ahead of print.] doi: 10.1002/ana.22597. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ana.22597/abstract (accessed Oct 2011).
