Song Yumi, Kim Shinhye, Joo Yoonji, Ha Eunji, Shim Youngeun, Lee Hyeonji, Jeong Hyeonseok, Lyoo InKyoon, Yoon Sujung, Lee Suji
Ewha Brain Institute, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea.
Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea.
Sleep. 2024 Sep 9;47(9). doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsae100.
Shift work interferes with circadian rhythms, affecting sleep quality and cognitive function. Poor sleep quality in shift worker (SW)s can impair psychomotor performance due to fatigue and sleepiness, increasing the risk of errors, accidents, and reduced productivity. Given the potential for atrophic changes in the hippocampus due to sleep disturbances, our study investigates how poor sleep quality correlates with hippocampal structural alterations and impacts psychomotor performance among SWs.
We recruited 100 SWs, classifying them based on sleep quality into two groups: good sleep-SW group (n = 59) and poor sleep-SW group (n = 41). Sleep quality was assessed using both 7-day actigraphy for sleep efficiency and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. A control group of 106 non-SWs without sleep problems (non-SW group) was also included for comparison. The outcome measures were psychomotor speed and hippocampal volumes, both total and by subfield.
The poor sleep-SW group showed significantly smaller hippocampal volumes than both the good sleep-SW group (p < .001) and the non-SW group (p = .003). Longer shift work years correlated with greater reductions in hippocampal volume in this group (r = -0.42, p = .009), unlike in the good sleep-SW group (r = 0.08, p = .541). Furthermore, they demonstrated declines in psychomotor speed relative to the non-SW group (p = .006), which correlated with smaller hippocampal volumes (r = 0.37, p = .020).
SWs with poor sleep quality exhibit significant hippocampal volume reductions and psychomotor speed decline, underscoring the importance of early intervention and support for sleep issues in this population.
轮班工作会干扰昼夜节律，影响睡眠质量和认知功能。轮班工作者睡眠质量差会因疲劳和困倦而损害心理运动表现，增加出错、发生事故的风险并降低工作效率。鉴于睡眠障碍可能导致海马体萎缩性变化，我们的研究调查了睡眠质量差与海马体结构改变之间的关联，以及其对轮班工作者心理运动表现的影响。
我们招募了100名轮班工作者，根据睡眠质量将他们分为两组：睡眠良好的轮班工作者组（n = 59）和睡眠质量差的轮班工作者组（n = 41）。使用7天的活动记录仪评估睡眠效率，并采用匹兹堡睡眠质量指数来评估睡眠质量。还纳入了106名无睡眠问题的非轮班工作者作为对照组（非轮班工作者组）进行比较。结果指标为心理运动速度和海马体体积，包括总体积和各亚区体积。
睡眠质量差的轮班工作者组的海马体体积明显小于睡眠良好的轮班工作者组（p <.001）和非轮班工作者组（p =.003）。与睡眠良好的轮班工作者组不同（r = 0.08，p =.541），在该组中，较长的轮班工作年限与海马体体积更大程度的减小相关（r = -0.42，p =.009）。此外，相对于非轮班工作者组，他们的心理运动速度有所下降（p =.006），这与较小的海马体体积相关（r = 0.37，p =.020）。
睡眠质量差的轮班工作者表现出明显的海马体体积减小和心理运动速度下降，强调了对该人群睡眠问题进行早期干预和支持的重要性。
