Association Between Shift Working and Brain Morphometric Changes in Workers: A Voxel-wise Comparison

초록

Objective: There is abundant evidence from observational studies linking various health problems to shift work, but there is a lack of brain-based neurological evidence. Therefore, we examined morphometric changes on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) between shift and non-shift workers. Methods: A total 111 healthy workers participated in this study and underwent brain MRI, with the analysis incorporating merged workers' health surveillance data from regional hospital workers. Voxel-based morphometry analysis was used to investigate regional changes in the gray matter volume. To investigate the association of structural changes between shift workers and non-shift workers, a general linear model and threshold-free cluster enhancement were used with covariates, including total intracranial volume, age, and sex. Results: After family-wise error correction, non-shift workers exhibited a significantly larger cerebellar region (p < 0.05) than shift workers. Conversely, the inferior parietal gyrus was found to be significantly larger in shift workers than in non-shift workers with family-wise error correction. Conclusions: We observed increased clusters in the brains of both shift and non-shift workers, suggesting that the acquired occupational environment, including the shift work schedule, could influence brain neuroplasticity, which is an important consideration for occupational health. © 2025 Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute

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