Shift Workers With Shift Work Disorder Have Worse Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms

Sex differences in lower urinary tract symptoms of Korean workers: Prevalence, mental health, and associated factors

Objectives

Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in workers can aggravate mental health, lower quality of life, and decrease work productivity. We aimed to examine the prevalence of LUTS, sex-related differences in LUTS, mental health of workers with LUTS, and factors associated with LUTS in Korean workers.

Methods

This cross-sectional study included 192 workers from D city and the Gyeongbuk province of South Korea. LUTS were measured using self-reported questionnaires, and mental health was assessed for anxiety, depression, and perceived stress. Differences in characteristics between workers with and without LUTS were analyzed using the chi-square test or independent t-test. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with LUTS.

Results

Urinary urgency (UU) was significantly more prevalent in men than in women; however, stress urinary incontinence (SUI) was more prevalent in women than in men. The average anxiety and perceived stress scores were significantly higher in men with UU than in men without UU. Men with hypertension or nocturia were more likely to have UU than those without hypertension or nocturia. The anxiety scores significantly increased the odds of UU in men. Advanced age significantly increased the odds of SUI in women. Blue-collar female workers were more likely to develop SUI than their white-collar counterparts.

Conclusions

Our study highlighted the prevalence and burden of LUTS among workers. Occupational health providers need to regularly assess workers' bladder storage problems and provide manageable interventions for UU in men and SUI in women.

Consequences of Shift Work and Night Work: A Literature Review

Nonstandard work schedules such as shift work and night work tend to trigger problems for workers in different areas. To illustrate the diversity of areas affected and the relative interest of the scientific community, we conducted a literature review of the effects of shift work and night work on workers. In particular, we intended to identify the main variables addressed in the field of health, the family sphere, and the organizational context. The literature review was carried out using the Web of Science with the following terms: "shift work", "rotating shifts", and "night work". Inclusion criteria incorporated empirical studies and articles written in Portuguese or English published in 2019. We selected 129 of the 619 articles identified. Regarding the impacts of shift work and night work, there existed a high discrepancy of focus between the three defined areas: health, family life, and organizational context. Specifically, health-related variables were the most studied (83.4%), followed by organizational variables (9.2%), and, lastly, family variables (7.4%). Based on these results, it is essential to extend the study of the two underrepresented impacts to other crucial areas, not only for the worker but also for organizations.

The effect of sleep on men's health

Sleep has increasingly been found to play a role in the overall health of an individual, but sleep quality has also been decreasing with the invasion of technology into the bedroom, “always-on” lifestyles, and increasing demands on one’s time when awake. We have herein reviewed the literature to assess the impact of sleep on erectile dysfunction, lower urinary tract symptoms, hypogonadal symptoms, low testosterone, and male infertility. We find that erectile dysfunction, lower urinary tract symptoms, and hypogonadal symptoms all have a linear relationship with sleep, as worse symptoms occur with poorer sleep. Male infertility, interestingly, has an inverse U-shaped relation to sleep in which men with too little and too much sleep seem to be more at risk for infertility than those with 7–8 hours of sleep. Finally, the literature has not demonstrated a significant clinical relationship between hypogonadal symptoms or testosterone levels and sleep. Overall, a large number of men experience poor quality sleep. Given the impact that poor sleep can have on general health and men’s health, in particular, screening for poor sleep quality and recommending interventions to improve sleep are becoming imperative during clinical evaluation and treatment.