Night Shift Jobs Harmful For Women: A study found that women who worked only at night had a nearly 50% higher risk of moderate or severe asthma than women who worked day shifts.

Night Shift Harmful For Women: According to a new study, women working night shifts have a higher risk of asthma than women working during the day. The study, which included 2,74,541 people, has been published in ERJ Open Research. However, no link was found between day or night shifts and asthma in men. The study found that women working only night shifts had a risk of moderate or severe asthma that was about 50 percent higher than women working day shifts. Dr. Robert Maidstone of the University of Manchester, UK, said, "The effect of asthma in women is more severe than in men. The rate of hospitalization and death from asthma is also higher in women."

The connection between night shifts and asthma

This is the first study to examine gender-based differences in the relationship between shift work and asthma. Researchers found that 5.3 percent of people had asthma, of which 1.9 percent had moderate or severe asthma, meaning they were taking asthma medications and inhalers. The study did not explain why there is a link between night shifts and asthma, but researchers say it may be due to a disruption in the body clock, which affects the levels of male and female hormones.

Risk is higher due to hormones

High levels of testosterone in men protect against asthma, which is lower in women. Apart from this, men and women work different shifts, which may be a reason. Dr. Maidstone said, "HRT may protect against asthma in women working night shifts, but more research is needed." The risk of asthma was found to be higher in post-menopausal women who were not taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The risk of asthma was twice as high in such women working night shifts as compared to those working during the day. Now we are planning to find out whether sex hormones have any relationship between shift work and asthma.

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