Shift patterns, physical exercise, and Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM): a prospective cohort study in China.

This study investigated the role of different shift patterns and physical exercise on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) risk factors of shift workers. We hypothesized that shift patterns would be correlated with the incidence of type 2 diabetes and that physical exercise would reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. We studied 2,827 workers using a cohort study design following for 4 years. The study sample consisted of 1,249 fixed-day-shift workers, 650 three-shift workers, 297 two-shift workers, and 631 four-shift workers. We found that compared with fixed day shift workers, alternating shift workers were at an increased risk for developing T2DM. And moderate and severe physical exercise reduced the risk of T2DM in shift workers. We concluded that physical exercise is associated with decreased type 2 diabetes risk in shift workers, particularly when physical exercise is moderate and severe. The findings of the current study may assist enterprise management departments in developing diabetes interventions among shift workers.