Anderson da Silva Garcez

Metabolic syndrome and shift work: A systematic review

The aim of this systematic review was to examine the association between shift work and metabolic syndrome (MetS) as well as the potential confounders investigated. A systematic search was conducted with the aim of finding original articles on the association between shift work and MetS. The included articles were chosen based on established inclusion criteria; their methodological quality was assessed using a validated quality checklist. A total of 10 articles were included in this review. The majority of the studies were classified as having a low risk of bias. The definitions of MetS and shift work varied between studies. Among the ten studies, eight found a positive association between shift work and MetS after controlling for socio-demographic and behavioral factors. Only three studies included sleep duration as a confounder, and these studies presented discordant results. We conclude that there was insufficient evidence regarding the association between shift work and prevalent MetS when the confounders are taken into account.

Physical activity in adolescence and abdominal obesity in adulthood: a case-control study among women shift workers.

Physical activity may have a protective effect against abdominal obesity, an important risk factor for cardiometabolic diseases. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the association between the practice of physical activities in adolescence and abdominal obesity in adulthood among women shift workers in Southern Brazil in 2011. This case-control study included 215 cases (waist circumference greater than or equal to 88 cm) and 326 controls. For both the case and control groups, participation in leisure-time physical activities was most frequent in adolescence and was significantly less in adulthood. After adjusting for potential confounding factors, women who participated in five or more physical activities in adolescence were 50 percent less likely to have abdominal obesity than women who participated in one activity or no physical activities (Odds Ratio = 0.50; 95% confidential interval: 0.27–0.93, p value = .029). Participation in various types of leisure-time physical activities in adolescence may protect against abdominal obesity in adulthood, even if the number of physical activities decreases over time. This finding demonstrated the importance of physical activity as well as the period of life in which these should be encouraged for the prevention of health disorders, such as abdominal obesity.

Association between work shift and the practice of physical activity among workers of a poultry processing plant in Southern Brazil

INTRODUCTION The regular practice of physical activity (PA) has been associated with better health. In addition, job characteristics may determine the PA behaviours of employees, including the work shift. However, relatively few studies have examined the PA behaviour among shift workers. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate the association between work shift and the practice of PA among workers of a poultry processing plant in Southern Brazil. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted with 1206 workers (786 females), ages 18 to 50, working in shifts on a production line that operates 24 hours/day. Workers who engaged in more than 150 minutes/week of PA were considered active. Multivariate analyses were conducted using Poisson regression and all analyses were stratified by gender. RESULTS Of the total participants studied, 36% (95%CI: 33-39) were considered active and the sociodemographic characteristics associated with PA differed among males and females. Regarding work shift, night shift workers had higher prevalence of PA. However, increased PA was significantly associated with work shift particularly among females. After controlling for potential confounders, women who worked during the night shift were approximately 30% more active than those who worked during the day (PR[prevalence ratio]= 1.32;95%CI: 1.07-1.62;p=0.010). CONCLUSIONS This study found a low prevalence of PA among the workers and indicated a significantly association between work shift and PA. Working at night was positively associated with regular PA, particularly among females. These results contribute for initiatives that aim to increase PA among the workers, take into account the job characteristics and gender differences.

Job characteristics and musculoskeletal pain among shift workers of a poultry processing plant in Southern Brazil

Job characteristics and musculoskeletal pain among shift workers of a poultry processing plant in Southern Brazil: Dânia Barro, et al. Postgraduate Program in Collective Health, University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Brazil

Estudos de custo-efetividade em saúde no Brasil: uma revisão sistemática

A systematic review was performed with the aim of describing the landscape and evolution of cost-effectiveness studies in health in Brazil. The search for articles on cost-effectiveness was performed in the main electronic health databases. The review identified 83 cost-effectiveness studies conducted nationwide. Between the years 1990-2005 there were few studies published on cost-effectiveness, though between 2006 and 2014 there was a significant increase in the number of publications. As for the themes and objectives of the studies, the chronic degenerative diseases and infectious/contagious diseases reflect the epidemiological diversity of Brazil. A predominance of studies on health intervention/treatment was identified. Thus, this review reveals a compatible Brazilian epidemiological reality scenario, indicating a need to increase research and investment of funds in the area of preventive health.

Work and Abdominal Obesity Risk

Scientific literature indicates that work characteristics are possible risk factors for abdominal obesity. The focus of this section is to describe the scientific evidence for associations between work characteristics and abdominal obesity. We describe how occupational position, job strain, physical activity at work, shift work, and unemployment are associated with an increased occurrence of abdominal obesity. Furthermore, we explore the influence of gender and socioeconomic characteristics on these associations. An examination of the causes of abdominal obesity with a focus on occupational health can improve our understanding of the multifactorial nature of this important public health problem.

Salivary Cortisol, Perceived Stress, and Metabolic Syndrome: A Matched Case-Control Study in Female Shift Workers

Although the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome (MetS) is complex and multifactorial, there is limited information if psychological factors, such as stress exposure, are involved in the etiology of MetS. Therefore, this study investigated the associations between MetS and cortisol levels and perceived stress levels among women shift workers in Southern Brazil. A matched case-control study was conducted, including 50 cases of MetS and 200 age-matched controls (±3 years, 4 for each case). Salivary cortisol levels were evaluated immediately after waking and one upon returning home from work. Perceived stress levels were measured by the Perceived Stress Scale with 10 items (PSS-10). Multivariate-adjusted associations between MetS and salivary cortisol levels and perceived stress levels were assessed by conditional logistic regression. Means±standard deviations of salivary cortisol levels were not significantly different between cases and controls either immediately after waking (5.37±4.10 vs. 6.03±5.39 nmol/l; p = 0.53) or after work (2.74±2.87 vs. 2.78±2.85 nmol/l; p = 0.93). There was no significant difference in perceived stress level between cases and controls (14.2±5.9 vs. 15.5±5.6; p = 0.15). No independent association was observed in the multivariate model between MetS and salivary cortisol level or perceived stress level after these exposures were stratified into tertiles. Overall, there was no difference between women with or without MetS in regard to the free salivary cortisol and perceived stress. Our results do not support an association between stress exposure and MetS among women shift workers.

Padrões alimentares de mulheres no climatério em atendimento ambulatorial no Sul do Brasil

The scope of this paper is to identify dietary patterns and the relationship with menopausal status. It involved a cross-sectional study with 646 women in outpatient care in southern Brazil. Dietary intake was assessed by a frequency questionnaire and five dietary patterns were identified by main component analysis. The menopausal status was classified as premenopausal, perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. Five dietary patterns were identified: fruit and vegetables; Brazilian fare (rice, beans and milk); snacks (cake, burgers, pizza and sweetbread); health diet (fish, fruit juice, bread and vegetable soup), and regional (typical food in the Serra Gaucha, like red meat, pasta and yams). After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, there was no significant association between menopausal status and dietary patterns. Only age, education and income were associated with dietary patterns. Five dietary patterns that described the food consumption of the population studied were identified, which are similar to those indicated as ideal for the Brazilian population. The findings reveal that the dietary pattern of women in menopause are significantly influenced by age, education and income but are not influenced by the menopausal status per se.The scope of this paper is to identify dietary patterns and the relationship with menopausal status. It involved a cross-sectional study with 646 women in outpatient care in southern Brazil. Dietary intake was assessed by a frequency questionnaire and five dietary patterns were identified by main component analysis. The menopausal status was classified as premenopausal, perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. Five dietary patterns were identified: fruit and vegetables; Brazilian fare (rice, beans and milk); snacks (cake, burgers, pizza and sweetbread); health diet (fish, fruit juice, bread and vegetable soup), and regional (typical food in the Serra Gaucha, like red meat, pasta and yams). After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, there was no significant association between menopausal status and dietary patterns. Only age, education and income were associated with dietary patterns. Five dietary patterns that described the food consumption of the population studied were identified, which are similar to those indicated as ideal for the Brazilian population. The findings reveal that the dietary pattern of women in menopause are significantly influenced by age, education and income but are not influenced by the menopausal status per se.

Basal cortisol levels and metabolic syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

OBJECTIVE To perform a qualitative synthesis (systematic review) and quantitative analysis (meta-analysis) to summarize the evidence regarding the relationship between basal cortisol levels and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adults. METHODS A systematic search was performed in the PubMed, Embase, and PsycINFO databases for observational studies on the association between basal cortisol levels and MetS. The quality of individual studies was assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa score. A random effects model was used to report pooled quantitative results and the I2 statistic was used to assess heterogeneity. Eggers and Beggs tests were used to evaluate publication bias. RESULTS Twenty-six studies (19 cross-sectional and seven case-control) met the inclusion criteria for the systematic review. The majority was classified as having a low risk of bias and used established criteria for the diagnosis of MetS. Twenty-one studies provided data on basal cortisol levels as continuous values and were included in the meta-analysis; they comprised 35 analyses and 11,808 subjects. Pooled results showed no significant difference in basal cortisol levels between subjects with and without MetS (standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.02, 95% confidence interval [CI]=-0.11 to 0.14). There was high heterogeneity between the studies when all comparisons were considered (I2 = 83.1%;p < 0.001). Paradoxically, meta-analysis of studies evaluating saliva samples showed no significantly lower basal cortisol levels among subjects with MetS (SMD=-0.18, 95% CI=-0.37 to 0.01), whereas those studies that evaluated serum samples (SMD = 0.11, 95% CI=-0.02 to 0.24) and urine samples (SMD = 0.73, 95% CI=-0.40 to 1.86) showed no significantly higher basal cortisol levels among subjects with MetS. In the subgroup and meta-regression analyses, a significant difference in basal cortisol levels was observed according to study design, population base, age, gender, cortisol level assessment method, and study quality. CONCLUSION This systematic review and meta-analysis does not reveal any association between basal cortisol levels and MetS based on results of observational studies. The results of a random-effect meta-analysis showed no significant difference in basal cortisol levels between subjects with and without MetS. The present findings should be considered in order to help future studies.

Sleep-related problems and minor psychiatric disorders among Brazilian shift workers

The aim of this study was to explore the association between sleep-related problems with the occurrence of minor psychiatric disorders in shift workers of southern Brazil. A cross-sectional study with 1202 workers (785 females) aged 18-50 years was carried out. Minor psychiatric disorders were assessed using the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20), and four sleep problems were collected and analyzed: sleep deprivation (≤ 5h), difficulty falling asleep, waking up during sleep, and sleep medication use. Results show that the overall prevalence of minor psychiatric disorders was 26.8%, but it was more prevalent among females than males (30.2% vs. 20.4%). Nightshift work was significantly associated with the occurrence of sleep-related problems. After adjusting for confounding factors, the number of sleep-related problems showed a positive linear trend with psychiatric disorders in both sexes. Having two or more sleep-related problems was associated with increased probability of psychiatric disorders approximately three-fold among males and two-fold among females, when compared with those without sleep problems. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that sleep-related problems have a strong and independent association with psychiatric disorders among shift workers. Furthermore, the prevalence of both conditions was higher among females than males; however, the strength of these associations was higher in males.