Dietary inflammatory index scores differ by shift work status: NHANES 2005 to 2010.
OBJECTIVE
Shift workers are affected by diet- and inflammation-related diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. We examined a dietary inflammatory index (DII) in relation to shift work from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data (2005 to 2010).


METHODS
The DII was calculated using data from a 24-hour dietary recall. Shift work categories included day workers, evening/night shift workers, or rotating shift workers. General linear models were fit to examine the relationship between shift work and adjusted mean DII values.


RESULTS
Among all shift workers and specifically rotating shift workers, higher (ie, more pro-inflammatory) mean DII scores (1.01 and 1.07 vs 0.86; both P ≤ 0.01) were observed compared with day workers. Women tended to express strong evening/night shift effects.


CONCLUSIONS
More proinflammatory diets observed among shift workers may partially explain increased inflammation-related chronic disease risk observed in other studies among shift workers compared with their day-working counterparts.
From the Cancer Prevention and Control Program (Drs Wirth, Burch, Shivappa, Steck, and Hébert and Mr Hurley), University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics (Drs Burch, Shivappa, Steck, and Hébert), University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC; WJB Dorn VA Medical Center (Dr Burch), Columbia, SC; and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics (Dr Vena), College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.
Michael D
MD
Wirth
James
J
Burch
Nitin
N
Shivappa
Susan E
SE
Steck
Thomas G
TG
Hurley
John E
JE
Vena
James R
JR
Hébert
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000209:etiology*; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D012307:Risk Factors; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance