Objectives: To examine the association and potential mediators between rotating night shift work and serum lipid profiles in Chinese steelworkers.
Methods: Different exposure metrics of night shifts collected through face-to-face personal interviews. Serum lipid profiles were measured using an automatic biochemical analyzer. Generalized linear models and mediation analyses were used to analyze the main associations.
Results: Compared with day workers, the total cholesterol level in night-shift workers increased in those with 13 to 20 years of night shifts and in those with average frequency of four or more night shifts per month. The association between the duration of night shifts and the total cholesterol level was mediated by systolic and diastolic blood pressure and body mass index.
Conclusions: Rotating night-shift work for 13 to 20 years was associated with an increase in the total cholesterol levels in steelworkers, and blood pressure and body mass index may be involved in the causal pathway.
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