Good
news for all of us night-stalking vampires out there. It turns out
exisitng in night time environments lowers Parkinson's Desease risk.
According to the American Journal of Epidemiology study, people who work rotating night shifts appear to have a lower risk of Parkinson's disease. Conversely, an increased risk of developing this condition is linked to a longer average duration of sleep.
Dr. Honglei Chen, of the National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, writes"Working rotating night shifts disrupts circadian rhythms and may have a wide range of physiologic, psychological and social effects on shift workers. In previous studies, shift work has been linked to higher risks of some chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancers."
After accounting for differences in age and smoking status, the investigators found that a longer sleep duration was associated with a higher risk of Parkinson's disease. Compared with nurses who slept no more than 6 hours per day, those who slept 9 or more hours per day had a 84-percent increased risk.
Plausible biologic explanations for these results are lacking, Chen's team points out. They note that shift work has been associated with modest increases in blood levels of estradiol and uric acid, "both of which may be protective against Parkinson's disease."
Conversely, they suggest that the data could be interpreted as showing that a "low tolerance for night shift work is an early marker of Parkinson's disease."
According to the American Journal of Epidemiology study, people who work rotating night shifts appear to have a lower risk of Parkinson's disease. Conversely, an increased risk of developing this condition is linked to a longer average duration of sleep.
Dr. Honglei Chen, of the National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, writes"Working rotating night shifts disrupts circadian rhythms and may have a wide range of physiologic, psychological and social effects on shift workers. In previous studies, shift work has been linked to higher risks of some chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancers."
After accounting for differences in age and smoking status, the investigators found that a longer sleep duration was associated with a higher risk of Parkinson's disease. Compared with nurses who slept no more than 6 hours per day, those who slept 9 or more hours per day had a 84-percent increased risk.
Plausible biologic explanations for these results are lacking, Chen's team points out. They note that shift work has been associated with modest increases in blood levels of estradiol and uric acid, "both of which may be protective against Parkinson's disease."
Conversely, they suggest that the data could be interpreted as showing that a "low tolerance for night shift work is an early marker of Parkinson's disease."
