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The shift work and health research agenda: Considering changes in gut microbiota as a pathway linking shift work, sleep loss and circadian misalignment, and metabolic disease

Prevalence and impact of metabolic disease is rising. In particular, overweight and obesity are at epidemic levels and are a leading health concern in the Western world. Shift work increases the risk of overweight and obesity, along with a number of additional metabolic diseases, including metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes (T2D). How shift work contributes to metabolic disease has not been fully elucidated. Short sleep duration is associated with metabolic disease and shift workers typically have shorter sleep durations. Short sleep durations have been shown to elicit a physiological stress response, and both physiological and psychological stress disrupt the healthy functioning of the intestinal gut microbiota. Recent findings have shown altered intestinal microbial communities and dysbiosis of the gut microbiota in circadian disrupted mice and jet lagged humans. We hypothesize that sleep and circadian disruption in humans alters the gut microbiota, contributing to an inflammatory state and metabolic disease associated with shift work. A research agenda for exploring the relationship between insufficient sleep, circadian misalignment and the gut microbiota is provided.

History

Volume

34

Start Page

3

End Page

9

Number of Pages

7

eISSN

1532-2955

ISSN

1087-0792

Location

England

Publisher

W. B. Saunders Co., Ltd.

Language

eng

Peer Reviewed

  • Yes

Open Access

  • No

Acceptance Date

2016-06-30

External Author Affiliations

University of Colorado, Boulder, USA

Author Research Institute

  • Appleton Institute

Era Eligible

  • Yes

Journal

Sleep Medicine Reviews