Chronobiology international
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Comparative Study
Objective working hour characteristics and work-life conflict among hospital employees in the Finnish public sector study.
This epidemiological cohort study, based on Finnish public sector data, investigated the associations between objective working hour characteristics and work-life conflict in day and shift work. The comprehensive data of hospital workers (n = 8 931, 92% women, average age 45 years), consisted of survey responses from 2012, linked with the payroll data of working hour characteristics from 91 days preceding the survey. Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the associations between working hour characteristics and experiencing work-life conflict often/very often. ⋯ Conversely, weekend work and evening shifts had higher odds of work-life conflict among shift workers with night shifts (OR 1.74, 95% 1.55-1.96; (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.40-1.77) than among those without night shifts. To conclude, this study shows that shift workers with and without night shifts more often have difficulties combining work and life than day workers. Several unsocial working hour characteristics, including long work weeks, evening and night shifts, weekend work, and quick returns, are associated with work-life conflict.
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Continuous recordings of core body temperature (CBT) are a well-established approach in describing circadian rhythms. Given the discomfort of invasive CBT measurement techniques, the use of skin temperature recordings has been proposed as a surrogate. More recently, we proposed a heat-flux approach (the so-called Double Sensor) for monitoring CBT. ⋯ Based on these data we conclude that (1) Double Sensor recordings are significantly superior to skin temperature measurements for non-invasively assessing the circadian rhythm of rectal temperature, and (2) temperature rhythms from the sternum are less reliable than from the forehead. We suggest that forehead Double Sensor recordings may provide a surrogate for rectal temperature in circadian rhythm research, where constant routine protocols are applied. Future studies will be needed to assess the sensor's ecological validity outside the laboratory under changing environmental and physiological conditions.
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Potassium Channel Interacting Protein 2 (KChIP2) is suggested to be responsible for the circadian rhythm in repolarization duration, ventricular arrhythmias, and sudden cardiac death. We investigated the hypothesis that there is no circadian rhythm in QT interval in the absence of KChIP2. Implanted telemetric devices recorded electrocardiogram continuously for 5 days in conscious wild-type mice (WT, n = 9) and KChIP2-/- mice (n = 9) in light:dark periods and in complete darkness. ⋯ QTmean-RR intervals display clear diurnal and circadian rhythms in both WT and KChIP2-/-. The amplitude of the circadian rhythm in QTmean-RR is 4.0 ± 0.3 and 3.1 ± 0.5 ms in WT and KChIP2-/-, respectively (p = 0.16). In conclusion, KChIP2 expression does not appear to underlie the circadian rhythm in repolarization duration.
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ABSTARCT Poor sleep quality or sleep restriction is associated with sleepiness and concentration problems. Moreover, chronic sleep restriction may affect metabolism, hormone secretion patterns and inflammatory responses. Limited recent reports suggest a potential link between sleep deprivation and epigenetic effects such as changes in DNA methylation profiles. ⋯ The study results demonstrated a positive association between average sleep duration of less than 6 hours and the methylation level of PER2 among morning chronotype subjects, and an inverse association for CRY2 among intermediate chronotype subjects, but only among day workers. Both the system of work and the chronotype turned out to be important confounders and modifiers in a number of analyses, making it necessary to consider them as potential covariates in future research on sleep deficiency outcomes. Further studies are warranted to explore this under-investigated topic.
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Neoadjuvant chemotherapy, that is, the administration of chemotherapy before surgery, has been commonly used for locally advanced breast cancer to improve the surgical outcomes and increase the opportunity for breast-conserving therapy. Women with breast cancer often receive an anthracycline-based regimen as the neoadjuvant chemotherapy, which is associated with a high risk of emesis. Despite the development of novel antiemetics, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) has been commonly reported as a major adverse effect, affecting the quality of life of the patients. ⋯ In the univariate analyses, overall CINV was significantly associated with late chronotypes (odds ratio [OR], 3.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.37-8.87; p = 0.009), a history of nausea/vomiting (OR, 2.19; 95% CI, 1.10-4.37; p = 0.026) and anxiety (OR, 2.25; 95% CI, 1.05-4.81; p = 0.036). In the multivariate analyses, late chronotypes (OR, 3.53; 95% CI, 1.27-9.79; p = 0.015) and a history of nausea/vomiting (OR, 2.83; 95% CI, 1.31-6.13; p = 0.008) remained significantly associated with CINV. In conclusion, in women with breast cancer undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery, late chronotypes were found to have an increased risk of CINV; these data suggest that clinicians need to assess and consider the chronotype in the management of CINV.