Working hours and risk of gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia.
BACKGROUND
The potential impact of employment on maternal health, particularly in relation to gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia, has been subject to research. However, there is limited evidence on associations between shift work and long working hours on the incidence of these conditions.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate potential associations between maternal shift work and long working hours during pregnancy and gestational hypertension or pre-eclampsia.


METHODS
Multistage stratified systematic sampling was used to recruit 24 200 post-partum women from the Taiwan national birth registration database in 2005. Subjects underwent home interview 6 months after their deliveries by structured questionnaire to obtain characteristics of maternal employment and potential confounders. Diagnosis of gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia was obtained from the birth registration.


RESULTS
There was no association between employment status and gestational hypertension or pre-eclampsia. Also, no significant association between gestational hypertension or pre-eclampsia and maternal shift work or long working hours during pregnancy was found in all or primiparous women.


CONCLUSIONS
There was no convincing evidence that maternal shift work or long working hours had a higher risk of gestational hypertension or pre-eclampsia. However, further research is warranted to confirm these negative findings.
Chang
Pei-Jen
PJ
Department of Nursing, National Taipei College of Nursing, Taipei 11219, Taiwan.
Chu
Li-Ching
LC
Hsieh
Wu-Shiun
WS
Chuang
Yi-Li
YL
Lin
Shio-Jean
SJ
Chen
Pau-Chung
PC
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D046110:Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D015994:Incidence; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance; D016526:Workload; D055815:Young Adult