FLICKR, JSMITH PHOTO
Working the graveyard shift can increase the risk of developing diabetes via two separate mechanisms, according to research published in Science Translation Medicine today (April 11). The study, which followed 21 patients over the course of 3 weeks in a controlled laboratory setting, revealed that the double whammy of sleep deprivation and a sleep/wake schedule that’s out of sync with the body’s internal biological clock reduced the amount of insulin secreted by the pancreas as well as the insulin sensitivity of various organs and tissues.
The results provide a potential mechanism to explain a growing body of epidemiological data that indicates shift workers are at an increased risk of weight gain, metabolic abnormalities, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, among other disorders. In 2007, the World ...
