Common mental disorders in Brazilian female shift workers: prevalence and associated factors.

This study aimed to identify the prevalence of common mental disorders (CMD) and associated factors in female shift workers. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 450 female workers, aged 18 years or older (± 36.1 years), from an industry located in Southern Brazil. CMD was assessed using the self-reporting questionnaire (SRQ-20 ≥ 8 points), and sociodemographic, occupational, behavioral, morbidity, and self-rated health characteristics were assessed using a questionnaire survey. The prevalence of CMD was 47.3% (95% CI: 42.6-52.1). After adjusting, female workers with black/brown race/skin color had a 22% higher probability of CMD than white workers (prevalence ratio (PR) = 1.22; 95% CI: 1.01-1.49), and workers with sleep disorders or poor sleep quality were 147% more likely to have CMD compared with those with good sleep quality (PR = 2.47; 95% CI: 1.70-3.58), and workers with fair/poor self-rated health were twice as likely to have CMD (PR = 2.00; 95% CI: 1.43-2.80) compared to those with excellent/very good self-rated health. A high prevalence of CMD was observed in female shift workers, especially in workers with a black/brown race/skin color and with poor sleep quality and self-rated health.

Behavioural characteristics and abdominal obesity among Brazilian shift working women.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association between behavioural characteristics with the prevalence of abdominal obesity (AO) among a population of Southern Brazilian shift working women. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted. AO was estimated using waist circumference (WC), and it was used to classify women as having AO (WC ≥ 88 cm). Prevalence ratios were estimated using Poisson regression with robust variance. SETTING: A large plastic utensils company in Southern Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: 450 female shift workers. RESULTS: The prevalence of the AO in the women shift workers was 44·5 % (95 % CI 40·0, 49·2 %). In night shift workers, the prevalence of AO was 56·1 % compared with 40·9 % among hybrid shift workers. After adjustments for covariates, women who were current smokers had a decrease in the prevalence of AO compared with those who never smoked. Women who had three or fewer meals per day had a 46 % increase in the AO prevalence compared with those eating more frequent meals. Night shift work was associated with increase in AO prevalence compared with hybrid shift (PR 1·33; 95 % CI: 1·08, 1·64). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that behavioural characteristics are associated with a high prevalence of AO in female shift workers, thus suggesting that behavioural modifications among women working shifts, such as increase in meal frequency and physical activity, may reduce AO.

Relationship of work-related stress with obesity among Brazilian female shift workers.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the relationship between work-related stress and obesity among female shift workers. Additionally, we also aimed to test the interaction between shift work and work-related stress in this association. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted among Brazilian female shift workers. Work-related stress was assessed through a demand-control questionnaire (Job Stress Scale). Work-related stress was defined by the presence of high psychological demands and low control at work. The obesity cases were defined as those with a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or more. Multivariate Poisson regression with robust variance was used to obtain the prevalence ratios (PR) and their respective 95 % CI. SETTING: A group of industries located in southern Brazil in 2017. PARTICIPANTS: Four hundred and twenty female workers aged 18-59 years. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of obesity was 30 % (95 % CI: 25·6, 34·4), and the presence of work-related stress was identified in 24 % (95 % CI: 19·9, 28·1) of the sample. We found an indication of interaction between work-related stress and night shift work on obesity (P = 0·026). After adjusting for confounding factors, work-related stress was associated with a 71 % greater probability of obesity (PR = 1·71; 95 % CI: 1·02, 2·87; P = 0·042) among female night shift workers. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we revealed that exposure to work-related stress and night shift work were associated with obesity among female shift workers. Furthermore, the prevalence of obesity was high among female shift workers.