Abstract
Introduction: A few studies suggest that working night and rotating shifts increase the risk of dementia. We examined the association between shift work and the incidence of dementia in a cohort of female Danish nurses. Methods: We linked Danish Nurse Cohort participants, who reported work schedules (day, evening, night, rotating shifts) in 1993 and/or 1999 and their duration in 2009, to Danish registers to obtain information on dementia hospitalizations and prescription medication until November 2018. Results: Among 6048 nurses who reported work schedules in 1993 and 1999, nurses working night shifts ≥6 years had higher dementia incidence (hazard ratio: 2.43, 95% confidence interval: 1.39 to 4.23) than those working day shifts ≥6 years. Among 8059 nurses who reported shift work duration, nurses working night shifts ≥6 years had higher dementia incidence than those working night shifts <1 year (1.47, 1.06 to 2.06). Discussion: Persistent night shift work may increase the risk of dementia.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Alzheimer's and Dementia |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1268-1279 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| ISSN | 1552-5260 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2020 |
Keywords
- Alzheimer's disease and dementia
- cohort study
- Danish Nurse Cohort
- Denmark
- neurodegenerative disease
- night shift work
- shift work
- working time