Working Weird Shift Timings? Your Natural Menopause Could Get Delayed, As Per This Study
While scrolling through Instagram, I came across a post that said “Hustle culture is making people in their 20s feel like they are running out of time” and that hit – hard. All the unconventional working shifts and doing extra work besides your daily job can be taxing – especially for women. In fact, a study conducted recently showed that working nontraditional shifts can not only create havoc in your lifestyle and sleeping habits but can also delay the natural onset of menopause in women.
A new study that was published online in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) revealed that working shifts, especially unconventional ones, can delay the natural onset of menopause. And that is possible because of the disruptions in the women’s circadian rhythms. The study is based on secondary data analyses of 3700 premenopausal women.
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As per the study, shift work has increased exponentially in recent years. In fact, 20% of the economically active population in Europe and North America have nontraditional work shifts or alternating shifts. And truth to be told, in the times we’re living in today it is an economic necessity to have shifts at work but that does not mean it doesn’t have a negative impact on the worker’s health.
Studies conducted previously have, on multiple occasions, linked nontraditional work shifts (specifically night shifts) with an increased risk of coronary events, peptic ulcers, type 2 diabetes, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colorectal cancer.
The recent study, however, focuses on the impact of nontraditional work shifts on middle-aged and older adults. The result showed that the age at which women get menopause is delayed due to their work timings. And as we know, from previous studies, early or delayed onset of menopause is a significant risk marker for subsequent morbidity and mortality.
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As per reports, the researchers working on the new study believe that the possible effect of circadian rhythm disruption on ovulation and fertility can cause a delay in the natural onset of menopause. Even the artificial light that women are exposed to seems to cause melatonin suppression which leads to the disruption of ovarian activity.
Study results are published in the article, “The association between shift work exposure and the variations in age at natural menopause among adult Canadian workers: results from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA)”
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