Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education
Open Access

Abstract

The objective of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the relationships between night shift work, eating habits and the risk of metabolic syndrome in Lebanese nurses. A total of 307 nurses, males and females, aged 24 to 45 years with at least two years’ experience and without any health problems, were randomly selected from five hospitals localized in Beirut city. Data about demographic and professional characteristics, anthropometric measures, dietary habits and intake were collected through apre-tested questionnaire consisting of 35 questions adapted from two validated questionnaires. Data were analyzed using the SPSS (V22). In order to study the relation between night shift works, eating habits and the risk of metabolic syndrome, khi-2 test, t-test and logistic regressions were used. The majority of nurses (78, 2%) had irregular meals timing with a significant decrease in the number of complete meals consumed during the day and an increase in the number of snacks consumed during night (p<0, 05). The most consumed snacks during night were sweets and potato chips. The findings highlighted that 50, 8% nurses had a Body Mass Index (BMI) > 25kg/m2. BMI and waist circumference increased with the number of years of work (r=0,175; p<0, 05) and the cumulative number of night shifts over the entire work history (r=0,135/ p< 0, 05). The findings of this study highlighted that night shift work contributed to abnormal eating patterns and increased the risk of metabolic syndrome in Lebanese nurses. However the risk of metabolic syndrome is not related to eating habits.

Biography

Zeinab Samhat has completed her Master Degree in Clinical Nutrition from the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik. She became a Registered Dietitian following her internship at Bahman Hospital. She is currently a Clinical Dietitian in her own Clinic in Beirut, helping her patients to improve their health and wellbeing.
Email:zaynab_hasco@live.com