How Shift Work Can Affect Cognitive Function

Summary: Researchers report shift workers take more time completing tasks that screen for cognitive impairment than those who work static hours.

Source: Uppsala University.

A new study from Uppsala University shows that compared to non-shift workers, shift workers needed more time to complete a test that is frequently used by physicians to screen for cognitive impairment. However, those who had quit shift work more than five years ago completed the test just as quick as the non-shift workers. The findings are published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging.

By utilizing data from around 7000 individuals participating in the Swedish cohort study EpiHealth, researchers from Uppsala University and Malmö University sought to examine whether shift work history would be linked to performance. The test that was used is called the “Trail Making Test”, which consists of two parts. Part A requires participants to connect circles labeled with numbers 1-25 in an ascending order. In part B, participants must alternate between numbers and letters in an ascending order. Time to complete these tests has been shown to increase with age.

‘Our results indicate that shift work is linked to poorer performance on a test that is frequently used to screen for cognitive impairment in humans’, says Christian Benedict, associate professor at the Department of Neuroscience at Uppsala University and corresponding author of the study.

Image shows a clock at 11 pm.
‘Our results indicate that shift work is linked to poorer performance on a test that is frequently used to screen for cognitive impairment in humans’, says Christian Benedict, associate professor at the Department of Neuroscience at Uppsala University and corresponding author of the study. NeuroscienceNews.com image is for illustrative purposes only.

‘The poorer performance was only observed in current shift workers and those who worked shifts during the past 5 years. In contrast, no difference was observed between non-shift workers and those who had quit shift work more than 5 years ago. The latter could suggest that it may take at least 5 years for previous shift workers to recover brain functions that are relevant to the performance on this test’, says Christian Benedict.

About this psychology research article

Funding: The authors’ work is mainly supported by the Swedish Research Council (CB, LL, EL, HS), Swedish Brain Foundation (CB, HS), AFA Insurance (CB, HS), and the Novo Nordisk Foundation (CB). The funding sources had no role in design of the study, in data collection, analysis, or interpretation, and no role in writing the manuscript, or in the decision to submit. The authors would like to thank Fyffe Liegnell (Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden) for her assistance.

Source: Christian Benedict – Uppsala University
Image Source: This NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.
Original Research: Full open access research for “Association between shift work history and performance on the trail making test in middle-aged and elderly humans: the EpiHealth study” by Olga E. Titova, Eva Lindberg, Sölve Elmståhl, Lars Lind, Helgi B. Schiöth, and Christian Benedict in Neurobiology of Aging. Published online May 14 2016 doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2016.05.007

Cite This NeuroscienceNews.com Article

[cbtabs][cbtab title=”MLA”]Uppsala University. “How Shift Work Can Affect Cognitive Function.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 17 May 2016.
<https://neurosciencenews.com/cognition-shift-work-4244/>.[/cbtab][cbtab title=”APA”]Uppsala University. (2016, May 17). How Shift Work Can Affect Cognitive Function. NeuroscienceNews. Retrieved May 17, 2016 from https://neurosciencenews.com/cognition-shift-work-4244/[/cbtab][cbtab title=”Chicago”]Uppsala University. “How Shift Work Can Affect Cognitive Function.” https://neurosciencenews.com/cognition-shift-work-4244/ (accessed May 17, 2016).[/cbtab][/cbtabs]


Abstract

Association between shift work history and performance on the trail making test in middle-aged and elderly humans: the EpiHealth study

Shift work has been proposed to promote cognitive disturbances in humans; however, conflicting evidence is also present. By utilizing data from 7,143 middle-aged and elderly humans (45-75 years) who participated in the Swedish EpiHealth cohort study, the present analysis sought to investigate whether self-reported shift work history would be associated with performance on the trail making test (TMT). The TMT has been proposed to be a useful neuropsychological tool to evaluate humans’ executive cognitive function, which is known to decrease with age. Following adjustment for potential confounders (e.g. age, education, and sleep duration), it was observed that current and recent former shift workers (worked shifts during the past 5 years) performed worse on the TMT than non-shift workers. In contrast, performance on the TMT did not differ between past shift workers (off from shift work for more than 5 years) and non-shift workers. Collectively, our results indicate that shift work history is linked to poorer performance on the TMT in a cohort of middle-aged and elderly humans.

“Association between shift work history and performance on the trail making test in middle-aged and elderly humans: the EpiHealth study” by Olga E. Titova, Eva Lindberg, Sölve Elmståhl, Lars Lind, Helgi B. Schiöth, and Christian Benedict in Neurobiology of Aging. Published online May 14 2016 doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2016.05.007

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