The Effect of Change of Working Schedule on Health Behaviors: Evidence from the Korea Labor and Income Panel Study (2005–2019)

Health Behaviors of Cancer Survivors According to the Employment Status and Occupation: A Cross-Sectional Study

This study aimed to identify differences in health behaviors according to the employment status and occupation of cancer survivors, as well as to identify risk factors. Using data from the Korea National and Health Nutrition Examination Survey (2008-2018), 1023 cancer survivors aged 19-60 years were classified based on their employment status and occupation, and their health behaviors were comparatively assessed. To investigate the impact of occupational status on the health behaviors of cancer survivors, we performed multivariate adjusted logistic regression analysis. Five hundred fifty-six (54.3%) cancer survivors were engaged in economic activities. After adjusting for various factors, white- and blue-collar workers exhibited an increased risk of obesity. The blue-collar group had a 1.45 times higher risk of non-practice with cancer screening, while the white-collar group had a 0.50 times lower risk of non-practice with health screening. The results provide evidence of the need to support cancer survivors in practicing healthy behaviors according to their employment status and occupation. As cancer survivors' economic activities increase, it is necessary to help them manage their health by predicting any possible health-behavior failures.

Association between job satisfaction and current smoking and change in smoking behavior: a 16-year longitudinal study in South Korea

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Previous studies have found that job satisfaction is closely associated with various health outcomes of workers. Our study measured the association between job satisfaction and current smoking and change in smoking behavior.

DESIGN

Data from the longitudinal Korea Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS) that consist of nationally representative samples were used. The repeated measures analysis was conducted.

SETTING

South Korea, 2005-2021.

PARTICIPANTS

In total, 21 154 workers in Korea followed from 2005 to 2021 (145 120 observations) were included as study participants.

MEASUREMENTS

The main predictor variable, job satisfaction, was assessed using a five-item general job satisfaction questionnaire. Job satisfaction was classified into 'dissatisfied', 'neutral' and 'satisfied', according to the tertiles of the sum of scores. The outcomes of interest were current smoking and initiation and cessation of smoking in the subsequent year.

FINDINGS

Compared with those with a neutral level of job satisfaction, those who reported dissatisfaction with their job had an increased risk of smoking initiation [odds ratio (OR) = 1.11, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.01-1.22)]. Workers satisfied with their jobs were associated with a decreased likelihood of current smoking (OR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.94-0.98) and smoking initiation (OR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.81-0.99). There was a positive relationship between cumulative years of job dissatisfaction and smoking risk: > 4 years of experiencing job dissatisfaction was positively related to current smoking (OR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.06-1.24) and smoking initiation (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.00-1.49) and negatively related to smoking cessation (OR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.72-0.99).

CONCLUSIONS

In Korea, job dissatisfaction appears to be associated with an increased risk of smoking initiation.

Seeking Treatment Profile of Male Shift Workers With Hypertension and Diabetes

OBJECTIVE

This study was identified seeking treatment for hypertension and diabetes among male shift workers.

METHOD

This retrospective cohort study included nine large companies in Japan. Data were collected from health checkup, health insurance records, and self-administered questionnaires in 2017 and 2020. Data were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression.

RESULT

Person-days shift workers and day workers seeking treatment for hypertension were 41,604 and 327,301, respectively and, for diabetes, were 7326 and 60,735, respectively. The log ranks were statistically significant. Shift workers were 46% and 56% less likely to seek treatment for hypertension and diabetes, respectively, than day workers were after adjustment for age, marital status, education level, and intention to modify lifestyle (model 2) ( P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Male shift workers are less likely to seek treatment for hypertension and diabetes compared with day workers.

The Role of Health Education, Policies, and Services on College Students' Health Behavior

Objective: In this study, we aimed to define the role of health education, health policies, and health service as factors in the health behavior of Chinese college students. It is critical to understand that there is an important role of health behavior in the life of college students in any society because the survival of society is dependent on better health status. Methods: We used SPSS software for analysis to test our hypotheses.Results: We found an important role for health education, health policies, and health services as determinants of health behavior. Conclusion: The focus of healthcare organizations must be to focus on health education, health policies, and health services by creating awareness in college students that ensures they are provided with the appropriate health sector solutions. Additionally, we found theoretical and practical implications to improve the health behavior of Chinese college students via a moderating role of information technology, because, in modern times, the role of information technology is critical to convey information productively.

Associations of extended work, higher workloads and emotional work demands with sleep disturbance among night-shift workers

BACKGROUND

In-depth investigation of the factors that exacerbate sleep disturbance among night-shift workers is essential to develop a successful implementation strategy to improve sleep. Although some characteristics of work associated with sleep disturbances have been investigated, there are inconsistencies in the findings. This study aimed to assess the influence of working time and work characteristics on sleep disturbance among night-shift workers.

METHODS

This study was a secondary data analysis of a nationally representative sample of data from the fifth Korean Working Condition Survey in 2017. A total of 1,790 wage workers aged between 19 and 64 years with night shift schedules were selected and analyzed. A multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to analyze the influences of working time characteristics, including shift type, frequency of night shift, and extended work; as well as work characteristics, including physical work demands, workload, emotional work demands, social support, and communication, on sleep disturbance among night-shift workers.

RESULTS

Of those analyzed, 8.4% of night-shift workers experienced sleep disturbances. Night-shift workers with extended work, higher workloads, and emotional work demands were more likely to experience sleep disturbances (OR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.05 to 2.23; OR = 1.01, 95% CI = 1.01 to 1.03; OR = 1.03, 95% CI = 1.02 to 1.05; respectively).

CONCLUSION

Extended work, higher workload, and emotional work demands were significant factors for sleep disturbance among night-shift workers. These findings highlight the importance of adjusting work demands and mitigating extended work to reduce sleep disturbance in night-shift workers.

Different levels of circadian (de)synchrony -- where does it hurt?

A network of cellular timers ensures the maintenance of homeostasis by temporal modulation of physiological processes across the day. These so-called circadian clocks are synchronized to geophysical time by external time cues (or zeitgebers). In modern societies, natural environmental cycles are disrupted by artificial lighting, around-the-clock availability of food or shift work. Such contradictory zeitgeber input promotes chronodisruption, i.e., the perturbation of internal circadian rhythms, resulting in adverse health outcomes. While this phenomenon is well described, it is still poorly understood at which level of organization perturbed rhythms impact on health and wellbeing. In this review, we discuss different levels of chronodisruption and what is known about their health effects. We summarize the results of disrupted phase coherence between external and internal time vs. misalignment of tissue clocks amongst each other, i.e., internal desynchrony. Last, phase incoherence can also occur at the tissue level itself. Here, alterations in phase coordination can emerge between cellular clocks of the same tissue or between different clock genes within the single cell. A better understanding of the mechanisms of circadian misalignment and its effects on physiology will help to find effective tools to prevent or treat disorders arising from modern-day chronodisruptive environments.