A longitudinal study of the relationship between shift work and prostate-specific antigen in healthy male workers

Abstract

As shift work has become prevalent globally, it is important to evaluate the health effects of shift work on employees. Several studies have demonstrated a positive association between shift work and prostate cancer. Therefore, we aimed to further examine the relationship between shift work and elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Our study collected data from 66,817 male participants at baseline and followed up for about 6 years. We categorized shift worker status and shift schedule types. To evaluate the risk of elevated PSA on shift workers, we estimated hazard ratios using the Cox proportional hazards regression analyses. During a median follow-up of 4.1 years, 1030 participants developed elevated PSA. The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of elevated PSA for shift workers compared with daytime workers was 1.37 (1.04–1.80). Among shift workers, rotating shift workers (HR = 1.47, 95% CI 1.06–2.03) showed a significantly increased risk of elevated PSA compared with daytime workers. Our longitudinal study provides evidence for an association between shift work, especially rotating shift work, and elevations of PSA.