Circadian Rhythm of Wrist Temperature among Shift Workers in South Korea: A Prospective Observational Study

Tae-Won Jang, Hyunjoo Kim, Suk-Hoon Kang, Sang-Hyo Choo, In-Seok Lee and Kyung-Hwa Choi
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Tae-Won Jang: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea
Hyunjoo Kim: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, Seoul 07985, Korea
Suk-Hoon Kang: Center for Sleep Medicine, Veterans Health Service Medical Center, Seoul 07985, Korea
Sang-Hyo Choo: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Sojung Healthcare, Seoul 05368, Korea
In-Seok Lee: Department of Civil, Safety and Environmental Engineering, Hankyong National University, Anseong 17579, Korea
Kyung-Hwa Choi: Taean Environmental Health Center, Taean 32148, Korea

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-9

Abstract: Background : Human body temperature varies with circadian rhythm. To determine the effect of shift work on the circadian rhythm of the distal-skin temperature, wrist temperatures were measured. Methods : Wrist-skin temperatures were measured by an iButton ® Temperature Logger. It was measured every 3 min for two and eight consecutive working days in the day and shift workers, respectively. Mesor, amplitude, and acrophase were measured by Cosinor analysis. Results : The shift-worker amplitude dropped significantly as the night shift progressed (0.92 to 0.85 °C), dropped further during rest (0.69 °C), and rose during the morning-shift days (0.82 °C). Day workers still had higher amplitudes (0.93 °C) than the morning-shift workers. The acrophase was delayed during the four night-shift days, then advanced during rest days and the morning-shift days. Nevertheless, the morning-shift worker acrophase was still significantly delayed compared to the day workers (08:03 a.m. vs. 04:11 a.m.). Conclusions : The further reduction of wrist-temperature amplitude during rest after the night shift may be due to the signal circadian rhythm disruption. Reduced amplitudes have been reported to be associated with intolerance to shift work. The findings of our study may help to design the most desirable schedule for shift workers.

Keywords: circadian rhythm; shift work; body temperature; wrist temperature; Cosinor analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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