Dietary Interventions for Night Shift Workers: A Literature Review

Abstract

(1) Background: Night shift workers have greater risks of developing cardiometabolic diseases compared to day workers due to poor sleep quality and dietary habits, exacerbated by circadian misalignment. Assessing effects of dietary interventions on health outcomes among this group will highlight gaps for future research. (2) Methods: A search of studies was conducted on PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Embase Classic, Ovid Emcare, and Google Scholar, from earliest to June 2019. The population–intervention–comparator–outcomes–study design format determined inclusion criteria. (3) Results: 756 articles were retrieved; five met inclusion and exclusion criteria. Six-hundred-and-seventy night shift workers were from healthcare, industrial, and public safety industries. Dietary interventions included two longer-term nutrition programs and three shorter-term adjustments of meal composition, type, and timing. Outcome measures were varied but included weight and cardiometabolic health measures. Nutrition programs found no weight improvement at both six and 12 months; low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol levels decreased at six months. Triglycerides peaked after meals at 7:30 pm; glucose and insulin area under the curve peaked after meals at 11:30 pm. (4) Conclusions: Weight loss was not achieved in the studies reviewed but LDL-cholesterol improved. Future studies should investigate the effects of energy reduction and altering meal timing on cardiometabolic risk factors of night shift workers in randomised controlled trials, while assessing hunger, sleepiness, and performance.