The effect of long working hours on developing type 2 diabetes in adults with prediabetes: The Kangbuk Samsung Cohort Study

Abstract

Background Long working hours are known to account for approximately one-third of the total expected work-related diseases, and much interest and research on long working hours have recently been conducted. Additionally, as the prevalence of prediabetes and the high-risk group for diabetes are increasing worldwide, interest in prediabetes is also rising. However, few studies have addressed the development of type 2 diabetes and long working hours in prediabetes. Therefore, the aim of this longitudinal study was to evaluate the relationship between long working hours and the development of diabetes in prediabetes. Methods We included 14,258 prediabetes participants with hemoglobinA1c (HbA1c) level of 5.7 to 6.4 in the Kangbuk Samsung Cohort Study. According to a self-reported questionnaire, we evaluated weekly working hours, which were categorized into 35–40, 41–52, and > 52 hours. Development of diabetes was defined as an HbA1c level ≥ 6.5%. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the development of diabetes were estimated using Cox proportional hazards analyses with weekly working 35–40 hours as the reference. Results During a median follow-up of 3.0 years, 776 participants developed diabetes (incidence density, 1.66 per 100 person-years). Multivariable-adjusted HRs of development of diabetes for weekly working > 52 hours compared with working 35–40 hours were 2.00 (95% CI: 1.50–2.67). In subgroup analyses by age (< 40 years old, ≥ 40 years old), sex (men, women), and household income (< 6 million KRW, ≥ 6 million KRW), consistent and significant positive associations were observed in all groups. Conclusions In our large-scale longitudinal study, long working hours increases the risk of developing diabetes in prediabetes patients.

The Korea Cohort Consortium: The Future of Pooling Cohort Studies

“…In addition, cohort studies in Korea have the advantage of being able to collect repeated test information owing to a system that requires annual or biennial health check-ups. The KNCC, Kangbuk Samsung Cohort Study (KSCS), Korean Cancer Prevention Study-II (KCPS-II), Health Promotion Center of Seoul National University Hospital (HPC-SNUH), and Health and Prevention Enhancement (H-PEACE) studies were included [13][14][15][16][17].…”

“…The KCC consists of 8 individual cohort studies (KCS, KMCC, NWS/DGS, KNCC, KSCS, KCPS-II, HPC-SNUH, and H-PEAC) [1,4,[12][13][14][15][16][17]] and 4 open public cohort studies organized by Korean government agencies or research institutes (KoGES, KNHANES, the customized NHIS-HEALS based retrospective cohort study, and the customized KNHIS cancer screening-based retrospective cohort study) [18,21,22]. The purpose of the "Fraction of Cancer Attributable to Lifestyle and Environmental Factors in Korea in 2015" project was to calculate the incidence and mortality rate (%) due to exposure to each risk factor for cancer incidence and mortality among Koreans in 2015, based on lifestyle and environmental factors associated with carcinogenicity or epidemiological causality in the Korean population.…”

The impact of long working hours on daily sodium intake

“… 4 5 Moreover, prolonged work hours are an independent risk factor for hypertension and diabetes. 6 7 …”

Investigating medication adherence among Taiwanese patient with hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes: A pilot study using the Chinese version of a Two-Part Medication Nonadherence Scale and the NHI MediCloud system

“…The prevalence of MN varies between diseases and ethnic groups, influenced by regimen complexity, age, and medical knowledge [ 15 ], Patients with diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension often face challenges in maintaining adherence due to multiple prescribed medications [ 16 – 18 ] consequently impeding the effort to maintain adherence. A recent study explored the adherence to blood sugar medications among patients in Singapore [ 19 ], revealing the younger patients had lower adherence due to long working hours, leading to unsatisfactory blood sugar control as reflected in higher HbA1c levels [ 20 , 21 ]. Another study identified that patients with adequate diabetes knowledge tended to have better medication adherence [ 22 , 23 ] thus education programs on disease and medication management may promote greater disease control [ 24 ].…”