Impact of rotatory shift work on cardiovascular system, serum cortisol and salivary IGA levels

ABSTRACT

The causality between shift work and cardiovascular dysfunction remains unknown. Accordingly we attempted an approach to explore such association. Electro-cardiographic, biochemical and physical data obtained from 61 shift and 18 day workers were assessed to clarify the impact of shift work on cardio-vascular system, serum cortisol and salivary IgA levels. Our results suggested an increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and statistically significantly higher levels of serum cortisol and lower levels of salivary IgA, which are considered as potential biomarkers of stress, among rotatory shift workers compared to the control group. The duration of shift work showed a statistically significant negative correlation with salivary IgA level and a positive one with serum cortisol level