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Work shift may increase diabetes risk

12/09/11

A recent study published in PLos Medicine revealed that women who work on a rotating shift are at a higher risk for type 2 diabetes.

The researchers, Frank Hu and experts from Harvard's School of Public Health in Boston used data from previous studies, including one launched in 1976 and one started in 1989.

The first study involved 121,704 women, of which more than 5 percent developed type 2 diabetes. The second study included 116,677 women, of which less than 4 percent developed type 2 diabetes. Using statistical modeling, the researchers found women who did rotating night shift work were 20 percent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

"We are increasingly residing in a '24/7' society, thus the option to eradicate shift working is not realistic," three researchers uninvolved with the study agreed. "If the observed association between rotating shift work and [type 2 diabetes] is causal, as it may be, additional efforts to prevent [type 2 diabetes] among shift workers through promotion of healthy life styles, weight control and early identification and treatment of prediabetic and diabetic employees are needed."

According to the American Diabetes Association, 8 percent of the U.S. population suffers from diabetes and type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. Prediabetic individuals looking for a way to prepare for the future would be wise to consider life insurance and annuity options that can help cover medical costs and support dependent family members should unexpected health events occur. 

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