#0038 Shift work and migraine: A systematic review
Are Night and Shift Workers at a Higher Risk of Contracting Migraine?
Migraine is a chronic neurological disorder that causes recurrent attacks of headache. According to the World Health Organization, it is the third most common illness and generally affects people in their working years, thereby causing great damage to the economy.
Despite its prevalence, not much is known about the causes of migraine. Scientists have suggested several risk factors, including sleep disturbances and disruptions to one’s internal clock. Could migraines be more common among those doing night jobs or shift work?
In our study, we aimed to answer this question by carrying out a systematic review of the existing literature on the subject. We looked for published studies exploring migraine in shift workers in the PubMed, Scopus, and ISI Web of Science databases. After filtering for duplicates and other criteria, we ended up with a total of eight suitable publications for our review.
The data in these studies, however, was conflicting. Some researchers found an association between migraine and shift work, according to certain job tasks and schedules, seniority in shift working, and the number of night shifts per month. However, others found no such links.
Though inconclusive, our results serve to pinpoint some of the limitations of existing studies. Most were cross-sectional, meaning that subjects were not followed up over a period of time to understand the progress of the disease. Moreover, researchers used different criteria to diagnose migraines and to define shift work schedules. Finally, other variables in the workplace made it difficult to reach a definite conclusion on the relationship between shift work and migraine.
Overall, our study highlights the need for more research exploring the link between people’s working schedules and migraine. Until more concrete evidence is obtained, it will be difficult to implement management strategies to protect those who are at a higher risk of developing migraine.
Link to the original journal article:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/1348-9585.12116
Title of the paper:
Shift work and migraine: A systematic review
Authors: Veruscka Leso, Paola Gervetti, Sara Mauro, Maria C. Macrini, Maria L. Ercolano, and Ivo Iavicoli
