REVIEW PAPER
The association between night shift work and nutrition patterns among nurses: a literature review
 
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1
Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Łódź, Poland (Department of Environmental Epidemiology)
 
2
Polish Social Insurance Institution, Second Branch in Łódź, Łódź, Poland
 
3
Medical University of Lodz, Łódź, Poland (Department of Nutrition Hygiene and Dietetics)
 
 
Online publication date: 2019-05-14
 
 
Corresponding author
Beata Pepłońska   

Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Department of Environmental Epidemiology, św. Teresy 8, 91-348 Łódź, Poland
 
 
Med Pr Work Health Saf. 2019;70(3):363-76
 
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ABSTRACT
The shift work system may affect the temporal distribution of eating and diet quality. The paper aimed at reviewing a body of research examining the associations between night shift work and dietary habits among nurses. Data from the PubMed and Google Schoolar databases, as well as references lists in selected papers were searched. The authors used the following keywords: nurses, shift work, diet, nutrition. Papers published in English or Polish were selected for the review, and as many as 19 papers published in 2000−2017 were eventually identified. The studies varied greatly with respect to the study size, subjects’ age and the duration of night shift work. The major problem was the heterogeneity of the tools used for dietary assessment. Self-administered questionnaires were used and analyses were rarely adjusted for confounders. Alcohol consumption was the most frequently analyzed aspect (N = 8 studies), followed by the total energy (N = 7), protein, fat (N = 6), and carbohydrate intake, coffee and fruit consumption (N = 5). The results showed quite a consistent association of night work with higher coffee (caffeine) consumption, as well as lower alcohol, and fruit and vegetables consumption. Few studies also reported more frequent snacks consumption, later time of the last meal, eating at night, meals irregularity, and a poorer diet quality among night shift nurses when compared to the reference. The review showed some poor nutritional habits among nurses working night shifts. However, the topic warrants further attention, owing to the relatively small number of the studies performed so far, and their numerous methodological limitations. Med Pr. 2019;70(3):363–76
eISSN:2353-1339
ISSN:0465-5893
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