title: The association between shift work and treatment-seeking migraine in Denmark.
abstract: In Europe, the one-year prevalence of migraine is 14.9% and migraine is on the top-10 list of leading causes of years lost to disability. Sleep disturbances and irregular daily routines are considered triggers of migraine and these factors are well-known consequences of shift work. We studied the association between treatment-seeking migraine and shift work, categorised as fixed evening work, fixed night work and variable working hours with and without night work in a Danish working population of 5872 participants. When compared with fixed day workers, only participants with fixed evening work were found to have significantly increased odds of reporting treatment-seeking migraine after adjustment for socio-demographic and behavioural covariates (OR = 1.56; 95% CI 1.05-2.32). Participants with seniority of 10 years or more notably accounted for this association. Due to the cross-sectional design, selection mechanisms may have biased the results. Practitioner Summary: The study showed higher odds of treatment-seeking migraine among evening workers even when taking a range of potential confounders into account. Due to the cross-sectional design, we cannot draw any causal inferences, but potential mechanisms underlying the present study are discussed, with an emphasis on possible selection into evening work.
authors.affiliation: a The National Research Centre for the Working Environment , Copenhagen , Denmark.
authors.forename: Gitte Sofie
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Jakobsen
authors.affiliation: a The National Research Centre for the Working Environment , Copenhagen , Denmark.
authors.forename: Anne Matilde
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Timm
authors.affiliation: b Department of Public Health , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark.
authors.forename: Åse Marie
authors.initials: ÅM
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.affiliation: a The National Research Centre for the Working Environment , Copenhagen , Denmark.
authors.forename: Anne Helene
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Garde
authors.affiliation: b Department of Public Health , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark.
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nabe-Nielsen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Evening work; headache; night work; selection