Study: Asthma risk rises sharply for women working night shifts

Women who work night shifts are more likely to suffer with moderate or severe asthma compared to women who work in the daytime, according to a study published today (Monday) in ERJ Open Research.

The research, which included more than 270,000 people, found no such link between asthma and working nightshifts in men.

The study was by Dr. Robert Maidstone from the University of Manchester, UK, and colleagues.

The researchers used data from the UK Biobank. They included a total of 274,541 working people and found that 5.3% of these had asthma, with 1.9% suffering with moderate or severe asthma (meaning they were taking an asthma preventer inhaler and at least one other asthma treatment, such as an oral steroid).

They categorised these people according to whether they worked only during the day, only nightshifts, or a combination of the two.

Their analysis revealed that, overall, women who work shifts are more likely to have asthma. m

Women who only work nightshifts are around 50% more likely to suffer with moderate or severe asthma compared to women who only work in the daytime.

The risk of asthma in men did not alter according to whether they worked days or nights.