Research

Hormonal

Rotating night shift work (defined as ≥3 night shifts per month) is associated with a statistically significant but small absolute increase in coronary heart disease (CHD) risk in women, with risk increasing in a duration-dependent manner (≥5 years exposure).

For women in rotating night shift roles (≥3 nights/month), long-term exposure (≥5 years) is linked to a modestly higher risk of heart disease. The risk appears to be most relevant during active exposure and decreases after stopping shift work. Regular cardiovascular monitoring is advisable for those with this work history, particularly if they have other risk factors like obesity.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Among women who worked as registered nurses, longer duration of rotating night shift work was associated with a statistically significant but small absolute increase in CHD risk.
Céline Vetter et al. · JAMA · 2016

Why this rating

Large prospective cohort (N=189,158), long follow-up (24 years), multivariable adjustment, but observational design limits causal inference.

Source

Association Between Rotating Night Shift Work and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease Among Women

Céline Vetter et al. · JAMA · 2016

DOI 10.1001/jama.2016.4454

cohort · n=189158Cited 510×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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