TUESDAY, Dec. 10, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Night shifts and poor sleep quality are associated with an increased risk for incident epilepsy, according to a study published online Nov. 29 in BMC Public Health.
Xushuai Dong, from the Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University in Jinan, China, and colleagues examined whether there is a positive association between night shift work, sleep quality, sleep behaviors, and the risk for epilepsy in a study including 270,000 individuals with or without epilepsy from the U.K. Biobank followed over 13.5 years.
The researchers observed a positive association for night shift work with a higher risk for epilepsy. A gradual increase was seen in epilepsy risk from never/rarely to usual/permanent night shift work; the highest risk was seen for usual/permanent night shift work (hazard ratio, 1.29). Sleep quality was also significantly associated with the risk for epilepsy. A higher risk for epilepsy was seen in association with sleep duration (less than seven or more than eight hours/day), frequent insomnia, and daytime sleepiness (hazard ratios, 1.19, 1.19, and 1.46, respectively). A U-shaped association was seen for sleep duration with epilepsy risk. No significant association was found between sleep chronotype and snoring and incident epilepsy risk.
“In conclusion, our study suggests a positive association between current night shift work, sleep quality, and risk of epilepsy,” the authors write. “These insights have significant implications for primary prevention strategies for epilepsy in public health.”
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