Night Shift Work Is Associated with Reduced Rate of Humoral Response Following Vaccination for HBV

Abstract

Night shift work has been associated with cardiovascular and metabolic disease, endocrine and immunological disorders. Published studies have reported that a reduced total sleep time with sleep-wake cycle alterations were associated with a reduced rate of humoral response following vaccination. Our study aimed to evaluate the association between night shift work and serological status for HBV among workers employed in a university hospital in Rome. We evaluated medical records of 986 HCWs working at Tor Vergata Policlinic of Rome. We screened all study subjects for anti-HBs IgG, anti-HBc IgG and HBsAg. Serological protection for HBV was evaluated in relation to sex, age group, job task, risk setting and night shift work status. Protective titer was found in 856 (86.8%) study participants and the mean titer was significantly high in females, in subjects aged less than 40 years, in night shift workers and in high-risk setting workers. After adjustment for study covariates, night shift work was no longer associated with an HBV-protective titer. This finding suggests that a vaccination strategy for dampening HBV transmission should be carefully addressed in health care workers (HCWs) doing night shift.

Protective Anti-HBs Antibodies and Response to a Booster Dose in Medical Students Vaccinated at Childhood

“…Circadian variation may have a significant impact on the response to vaccination in people who work or train in areas where there is a higher risk of HBV infection, such as healthcare workers and medical students [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. In Italy, HBV vaccination is mandatory at birth age for all individuals born after the year 1991, but published studies have shown that the percentage of young individuals who are unprotected at the time of their first employment screening is high [ 12 , 14 ], raising questions about the effectiveness and duration of protection in those vaccinated at age <12 months and highlighting the need of a booster dose in these unprotected individuals. The response to a booster dose is generally high in previously vaccinated individuals, demonstrating the persistence of immune memory; however, a lack of response may occur in a variable percentage of individuals, posing a serious safety issue for these individuals.…”