PPubMed16 Nov 2017Cited 61×

The relationship between shift work and mental health among electronics workers in South Korea: A cross-sectional study Shift work and mental health

Mo-Yeol Kang, Ho-Jang Kwon, Kyung-Hwa Choi, Chung-Won Kang, Hyunjoo Kim, Suxia Li

Abstract

We found that insomnia was significantly more prevalent among shift workers than among daytime workers of an electronics manufacturer in South Korea. Furthermore, shift work had significant associations with depression or suicidal ideation only among female workers. Respondents with insomnia, possibly induced by shift work, also had a much greater odds of having depression or suicidal ideation. Overall, the results suggest that shift work appears to influence workers’ mental health via its aggravation of sleep disturbance. These results accord with those of other researchers who reported that

§ The Valyu brief

The paper, in five minutes

Read from the full text via Valyu Contents

Shift work raises odds of insomnia, depression, and suicidal ideation among South Korean electronics workers, especially via sleep disturbances.

What’s new

i.First large cross‑sectional study of shift work and mental health in South Korean electronics manufacturing workers
ii.Found shift workers had 2.35‑fold higher odds of insomnia, 1.23‑fold higher odds of depression, and 1.17‑fold higher odds of suicidal ideation compared with daytime workers
iii.Showed insomnia dramatically increased odds of depression (OR 4.899) and suicidal ideation (OR 7.934) among shift workers
iv.Identified gender differences: insomnia risk higher in male shift workers, while depression and suicidal ideation risks were significant only among female shift workers

How they did it

A questionnaire survey was administered to 14,226 electronics workers in South Korea; after excluding incomplete responses, 14,114 participants were analyzed. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess the association between shift work (independent variable) and insomnia, depression, and suicidal ideation (dependent variables), adjusting for age, gender, BMI, workplace, education, and marital status.

What they found

Shift workers had 2.35 times higher odds of insomnia relative to daytime workers
Shift workers had 1.23 times higher odds of depression relative to daytime workers
Shift workers had 1.17 times higher odds of suicidal ideation relative to daytime workers
Among shift workers with insomnia, odds of depression were 4.899 times higher
Among shift workers with insomnia, odds of suicidal ideation were 7.934 times higher
Male shift workers had an adjusted OR of 3.314 for insomnia; female shift workers had an OR of 1.637
Depression and suicidal ideation associations with shift work were significant only among female workers

Caveats

✕Cross‑sectional design prevents causal inference
✕Self‑report questionnaires and brief screeners were used for depression and suicidal ideation
✕Response rate was 64.8%, raising uncertainty about sample representativeness
✕All participants were from a single company, limiting generalizability

§ The Valyu brief

Reading the full paper and taking notes. This takes a few seconds…

§ Ask this paper

Ask a question about this paper

Valyu reads the full text and answers from what the paper actually says.

§ Related work in other archives

The relationship between shift work and mental health among electronics workers in South Korea: A cross-sectional study Shift work and mental health

The paper, in five minutes

Ask a question about this paper

Similar papers in all four archives

Similar papers in all four archives

The paper, in five minutes