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Shift work which potentially disrupts workers´ normal biological and social diurnal rhythms has been found to be associated with various health problems. A cross-sectional study was conducted to examine relationships between shift work and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors, namely high blood pressure (BP), dyslipidaemia, high body mass index (BMI), diabetes mellitus and physical inactivity among male factory workers in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Multiple logistic regression was used to evaluate the odds ratio for each CHD risk factors associated with shift work. We found that the prevalence of high BP, hypercholesterolaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia and high BMI were significantly higher among shift workers compared to day workers. When shift workers were compared with day workers, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for high BP, high BMI and physical inactivity were 9.1 (95% CI 1.4-56.8), 2.9 (95% CI 1.3-6.1) and 7.7 (95% CI 2.1-27.5) respectively. A positive association between shift work and high BP, high BMI and physical inactivity denote a higher risk of CHD risk factors among shift workers compared to day workers.

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Mohd Nazri Shafei is a senior medical lecturer in the Department of Community Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). He obtained his Medical Degree in 1997 from USM and Master of Community Medicine (Occupational Health) in 2005 from the same university. His research interest is on chronic diseases among workers.

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