Shift work in teens linked to increased multiple sclerosis risk

Circadian disruption and sleep restriction contributing factors

2011-10-19

(Press-News.org) Researchers from Sweden have uncovered an association between shift work and increased risk of multiple sclerosis (MS). Those who engage in off-hour employment before the age of 20 may be at risk for MS due to a disruption in their circadian rhythm and sleep pattern. Findings of this novel study appear today in Annals of Neurology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Neurological Association and Child Neurology Society.

Previous research has determined that shift work—working during the night or rotating working hours—increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, thyroid disorders, and cancer. Circadian disruption and sleep restriction are associated with working night shifts; these factors are believed to disturb melatonin secretion and increase inflammatory responses, promoting disease states. MS is a central nervous system autoimmune inflammatory disorder that has an important environmental component, thus investigating lifestyle risk factors, such as sleep loss related to shift work, is an important objective and the focus of the current study.

Dr. Anna Karin Hedström and colleagues from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm analyzed data from two population-based studies—one with 1343 incident cases of MS and 2900 controls and another with 5129 prevalent MS cases and 4509 controls. The team compared the occurrence of MS among study subjects exposed to shift work at various ages against those who had never been exposed. All study subjects resided in Sweden and were between the ages of 16 and 70. Shift work was defined as permanent or alternating working hours between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.

"Our analysis revealed a significant association between working shift at a young age and occurrence of MS," explains Dr. Hedström. "Given the association was observed in two independent studies strongly supports a true relationship between shift work and disease risk." Results showed that those in the incident MS cohort who had worked off-hour shifts for three years or longer before age 20 had a 2 fold-risk of developing MS compared with those who never worked shifts. Similarly, subjects in the prevalent cohort who engaged in shift work as teens had slightly more than a 2-fold risk of MS than subjects who never worked shifts.

The authors suggest that disruption of circadian rhythm and sleep loss may play a role in the development of MS; however the exact mechanisms behind this increased risk remain unclear and further study is needed.

### This study is published in Annals of Neurology. Media wishing to receive a PDF of this article may contact healthnews@wiley.com.

Full citation:"Shift Work at Young Age is Associated with Increased Risk for Multiple Sclerosis." Anna Karin Hedström, Torbjörn Åkerstedt, Jan Hillert, Tomas Olsson and Lars Alfredsson. Annals of Neurology; Published Online: October 18, 2011 (DOI:10.1002/ana.22597). http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/ana.22597

Author Contact: To arrange an interview with Dr. Hedström, please contact Camilla Wernersson with the Karolinska Institutet at camilla.wernersson@ki.se.

About the Journal Annals of Neurology, the official journal of the American Neurological Association and the Child Neurology Society, publishes articles of broad interest with potential for high impact in understanding the mechanisms and treatment of diseases of the human nervous system. All areas of clinical and basic neuroscience, including new technologies, cellular and molecular neurobiology, population sciences, and studies of behavior, addiction, and psychiatric diseases are of interest to the journal.

About Wiley-Blackwell Wiley-Blackwell is the international scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons, with strengths in every major academic and professional field and partnerships with many of the world's leading societies. Wiley-Blackwell publishes nearly 1,500 peer-reviewed journals and 1,500+ new books annually in print and online, as well as databases, major reference works and laboratory protocols. For more information, please visit http://www.wileyblackwell.com or our new online platform, Wiley Online Library (http://www.wileyonlinelibrary.com), one of the world's most extensive multidisciplinary collections of online resources, covering life, health, social and physical sciences, and humanities.

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Has our violent history led to an evolved preference for physically strong political leaders?

2011-10-19

New research into evolutionary psychology suggests that physical stature affects our preferences in political leadership. The paper, published in Social Science Quarterly, reveals that a preference for physically formidable leaders, or caveman politics, may have evolved to ensure survival in ancient human history. The paper, published by Gregg R. Murray and J. David Schmitz, from Texas Tech University, focuses on evolutionary psychology, the study of universal human behavior which is related to psychological mechanisms which evolved to solve problems faced by humans in ...

Virginia Tech biomedical engineers announce child football helmet study

2011-10-19

Virginia Tech released today results from the first study ever to instrument child football helmets. Youth football helmets are currently designed to the same standards as adult helmets, even though little is known about how child football players impact their heads. This is the first study to investigate the head impact characteristics in youth football, and will greatly enhance the development of improved helmets specifically designed for children. The Auburn Eagles, a local, Montgomery County, Va., youth team consisting of 6 to 8 year old boys, has participated in ...

The Importance of CRM Highlighted During National Customer Service Week

2011-10-19

Customers are a business' best asset. They provide opportunities for new sales and act as an endorsement to products and services when everything's going well. But businesses could be losing sales, customers and their reputation if they're not maintaining a positive relationship by using an effective business CRM system. "As National Customer Service Week demonstrates, customers are the key to good business and growth. CRM systems such as webCRM ensure a business maintains a proactive relationship with its customers," said Stephen Todd of Leicestershire-based ...

Adult congenital heart patients with highest surgery costs more likely to die in hospital

2011-10-19

Higher surgical costs for adult congenital heart patients is associated with higher rates of inpatient death compared to surgical admissions that incur lower costs, according to a study in Circulation: Quality and Outcomes, a journal of the American Heart Association. In the study, researchers sought to understand resource use by adults undergoing congenital heart surgery in pediatric hospitals, analyze the association between high resource use and inpatient death, and identify risk factors for high resource use. They found that although the number of adults undergoing ...

Michael D. Antonovich Endorses Fortine for College Board

2011-10-19

Los Angeles County Mayor and Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich has endorsed Bruce Fortine's bid to serve another term on the Santa Clarita Community College District Board of Trustees. Fortine is running for re-election to Seat 4. "For more than 25 years, Bruce's leadership on the Santa Clarita Community College District Board has had a very positive impact on the students and faculty of College of the Canyons," Antonovich said. "With his experience, knowledge and passion, he will be a superb representative for our Santa Clarita Valley residents attending ...

Young human-specific genes correlated with human brain evolution

2011-10-19

Young genes that appeared since the primate branch split from other mammal species are expressed in unique structures of the developing human brain, a new analysis finds. The correlation suggests that scientists studying the evolution of the human brain should look to genes considered recent by evolutionary standards and early stages of brain development. "There is a correlation between the new gene origination and the evolution of the brain," said Manyuan Long, PhD, Professor of Ecology & Evolution at the University of Chicago and senior author of the study in PLoS ...

Hospitalization for heart failure among Medicare patients has declined substantially

2011-10-19

CHICAGO - Between 1998 and 2008, heart-failure related hospitalizations declined substantially among Medicare patients, but at a lower rate for black men, according to a study in the October 19 issue of JAMA. Also, 1-year mortality rates declined slightly during this period, but remain high. "Heart failure (HF) imposes one of the highest disease burdens of any medical condition in the United States with an estimated 5.8 million patients experiencing HF in 2006. The risk of developing HF increases with advancing age, and as a result, HF ranks as the most frequent cause ...

Most hospital readmission prediction models perform poorly

2011-10-19

CHICAGO – A review and analysis of 26 validated hospital readmission risk prediction models finds that most, whether for hospital comparison or clinical purposes, have poor predictive ability, according to an article in the October 19 issue of JAMA. "An increasing body of literature attempts to describe and validate hospital readmission risk prediction tools," according to background information in the article. "Predicting hospital readmission risk is of great interest to identify which patients would benefit most from care transition interventions, as well as to risk-adjust ...

Sterilization method for hemodialysis dialyzer membrane linked with risk of low platelet counts

2011-10-19

CHICAGO – Patients who had undergone hemodialysis using dialyzers that had been sterilized with the use of electron beams were more likely to develop thrombocytopenia (an abnormally low platelet count in the blood, associated with increased risk of bleeding), according to a study in the October 19 issue of JAMA. "Adverse device reactions to hemodialysis treatments are uncommon but can still occur in today's era of hemodialysis membranes and technology. During hemodialysis treatment, patients are exposed to a variety of components of the dialysis circuit and could have ...

Commonwealth Fund Commission national health care scorecard: US scores 64 out of 100

2011-10-19

New York, NY, October 18, 2011—The U.S. health care system scored 64 out of 100 on key measures of performance, according to the third national scorecard report from the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System, released today. The scorecard finds that—despite pockets of improvement—the U.S as a whole failed to improve when compared to best performers in this country, and among other nations. The report also finds significant erosion in access to care and affordability of care, as health care costs rose far faster than family incomes. At the same ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

ACS Annual Report: Cancer mortality continues to drop despite rising incidence in women; rates of new diagnoses under 65 higher in women than men

Dose-dependent relationship between alcohol consumption and the risks of hepatitis b virus-associated cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma: A meta-analysis and systematic review

International Alliance for Primary Immunodeficiency Societies selects Rockefeller University Press to publish new Journal of Human Immunity

Leader in mission-driven open publishing wins APE Award for Innovation in Scholarly Communication

Innovative 6D pose dataset sets new standard for robotic grasping performance

Evaluation of plasma neurodegenerative biomarkers for diagnosing minimal hepatic encephalopathy and predicting overt hepatic encephalopathy in Chinese patients with hepatic cirrhosis