Consequences of Circadian Disruption in Shift Workers on Chrononutrition and their Psychosocial Well-Being

Abstract

The workers and employees in various institutions are subjected to different shifts and work schedules. The employees work not only at daytime but also during odd hours at night. The biological clock of an individual is often altered during night shifts. This affects the psychosocial well-being and circadian nutritional intake of the worker. Disturbance in circadian rhythm results in the development of metabolic disorders such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, dysglycemia, and abdominal obesity. In the present review, we discuss the nature of shift work, sleep/wake cycle of an individual, chrononutrition, dietary habits, and meal changes with regard to timing and frequency, related to shift work. We also discuss the relationship between nutritional intake and psychosocial well-being among shift workers. The review may be beneficial for prevention of metabolic disorders and maintaining sound psychological condition in shift workers. experience circadian misalignment, which occurs when the fast/feeding times are desynchronized with the temporal pattern established by the central circadian clock [8]. In relation to this, the changes in the intake of food especially among shift workers are known to influence many elements of cognitive performance, emotional state, and wakefulness [9]. For example, the cognitive-behavioral consequences of food intake restrictions for the short term are associated with lack of energy supply, whereas the long-term effect involves lack of supply of essential nutrients [10]. The intake of nutrients, thus, plays a decisive role in the regulation of the nervous system and behavior [11].It is important to highlight the concern of nutritional intake and psychosocial dilemma among shift workers in order to design and promote suitable lifestyle practices for the population. Hence, in the present review, we aimed to explore the impact of circadian disruption in individuals working in shifts and the effect on their chrononutrition and psychosocial well-being.

Cortisol on Circadian Rhythm and Its Effect on Cardiovascular System

“…In these populations, the cardiovascular system functions with a 24-h rhythm, like blood pressure and heart rate, and rhythms in core temperature and hormone secretion and activity are disturbed [ 30 ]. Furthermore, the phenomenon of circadian rhythm misalignment when the individual is involved in shift duties can consequently lead to an increased risk of metabolic syndrome [ 2 ]. Physiological reduction in cardiovascular rhythms is a bad prognostic indicator that is related to dysfunction of organs, delirium, and a high risk of death [ 31 ].…”

“…Identical clock oscillators to the SCN clock have been established in peripheral tissues such as gastrointestinal tract, liver, muscle, adipose tissue, and cardiovascular tissue. The clock induces sleep and other related anabolic functions at night when synchronized according to the environment, such as immune function and hormone release, and wakefulness and its associated catabolic functions throughout the day, i.e., food intake and metabolism and physical activity [ 2 ]. One of the most potent hormones in human physiology is cortisol, in which nearly all of the cells of the body are potential cortisol targets.…”

Advancing European nutrition – are pharmacists eligible partners in the process?

“…Importantly, the lower self-assessment of nutritional habits resulted in the higher nHDI-14 score, suggesting at least self-awareness. Pharmacists’ working schedule is inevitably connected with shift work, which might be a potentially detrimental factor to their nutrition quality [ 22 , 23 ]. Shift duties in nurses, for instance, were positively associated with occurrence of abnormal eating [ 24 ].…”

“…Shift work or lack of time, which were not assessed in the study, may serve as potentially detrimental factors to pharmacists’ nutrition quality [ 22 , 23 ]. While nutrition knowledge is not an exclusive determinant of eating behaviors, it remains fundamental for fruitful nutrition education.…”

Melatonergic index as a prognostic biomarker of reproductive organ cancers: correlations with metabolic parameters as well as clock genes PER1 and TIMELESS

“…Central and peripheral circadian rhythms are governed by transcriptional/translational feedback loops involving clock genes, and their misalignment and products favor the development of several cancers (21). The modern lifestyle is associated with sleep deprivation, night-shift work, altered mealtime, exposure to artificial light during darkness, and metabolic dysregulation, which cause profound changes in the circadian system (22). Circadian disruption accelerates tumor development and progression, and genetic variability represents one of the dysregulated features of clock genes (23).…”