GlycA, a Biomarker of Low-Grade Inflammation, Is Increased in Male Night Shift Workers

Daniele Bizzarri; Martijn E T Dollé; Bette Loef; Erik B van den Akker; Linda W M van Kerkhof

doi:10.3390/metabo12121172

GlycA, a Biomarker of Low-Grade Inflammation, Is Increased in Male Night Shift Workers

Metabolites. 2022 Nov 24;12(12):1172. doi: 10.3390/metabo12121172.

Authors

Daniele Bizzarri¹, Martijn E T Dollé², Bette Loef³, Erik B van den Akker^{1

4}, Linda W M van Kerkhof²

Affiliations

¹ Biomedical Data Sciences, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZC Leiden, The Netherlands.
² Center for Health Protection, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
³ Center for Nutrition, Prevention and Health Services, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
⁴ Intelligent Systems, Pattern Recognition and Bioinformatics, Delft University of Technology, 2628 XE Delft, The Netherlands.

Abstract

Sustained night shift work is associated with various adverse health risks, including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, and susceptibility to infectious respiratory diseases. The extent of these adverse health effects, however, seems to greatly vary between night shift workers, yet the underlying reasons and the mechanisms underlying these interindividual differences remain poorly understood. Metabolomics assays in the blood have recently gained much attention as a minimally invasive biomarker platform capturing information predictive of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. In this cross-sectional study, we explored and compared the metabolic profiles of 1010 night shift workers and 1010 age- and sex-matched day workers (non-shift workers) from the Lifelines Cohort Study. The metabolic profiles were determined using the ¹H-NMR Nightingale platform for the quantification of 250 parameters of metabolism, including routine lipids, extensive lipoprotein subclasses, fatty acid composition, and various low-molecular metabolites, including amino acids, ketone bodies, and gluconeogenesis-related metabolites. Night shift workers had an increased BMI (26.6 vs. 25.9 kg/m²) compared with day workers (non-shift workers) in both sexes, were slightly more likely to be ever smokers (only in males) (54% vs. 46%), worked on average 5.9 ± 3.7 night shifts per month, and had been working in night shifts for 18.3 ± 10.5 years on average. We observed changes in several metabolic markers in male night shift workers compared with non-shift workers, but no changes were observed in women. In men, we observed higher levels of glycoprotein acetyls (GlycA), triglycerides, and fatty acids compared with non-shift workers. The changes were seen in the ratio of triglycerides and cholesterol(esters) to total lipids in different sizes of VLDL particles. Glycoprotein acetyls (GlycAs) are of particular interest as markers since they are known as biomarkers for low-grade chronic inflammation. When the analyses were adjusted for BMI, no significant associations were observed. Further studies are needed to better understand the relationship between night shift work and metabolic profiles, particularly with respect to the role of sex and BMI in this relationship.

Keywords: circadian rhythms; metabolomics; night shift work.

Abstract

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