No stress after 24‐hour on‐call shifts?

Autor: Birgit Harbeck, Peter Kropp, Heiner Moenig, Christian S. Haas, Sven Suefke, Hendrik Lehnert
Rok vydání: 2015
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Occupational Health. 57:438-447
ISSN: 1348-9585
1341-9145
Popis: No stress after 24-hour on-call shifts? : Birgit HARBECK, et al. Department of Medicine I, University of Luebeck, Germany—Objectives: Irregular sleep patterns can adversely affect physiolog- ical functions and have been associated with increased physiological and psychological stress. Nocturnal work of physicians during 24-hour on-call shifts (OCS) disrupts the sleep/wake cycle. Chronic exposure to distress has been shown to affect cardiovascular homeostasis and to impair performance in neurocogni- tive and simulated clinical tasks. Methods: In a prospective cohort study, biochemical and physiological stress parameters were assessed in 11 female and 9 male physicians (median age: 32 years, range 26−42 years) before a normal working day and after a 24-hour OCS in internal medicine. In addition, various tests of attentional performance (TAP) were conducted. Results: The levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) were significantly higher after a 24- hour OCS, while there were no significant changes in cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine levels. Heart rate vari- ability and skin resistance increased following an OCS, although the differences were not statistically significant. Intrinsic alertness was comparable, while phasic alert- ness was significantly improved following a 24-hour OCS. Focused attention tended to be better following a night shift. There was no correlation with age or medi- cal working experience; however, men experienced more stress than women. Conclusions: Following a 24-hour OCS, (i) TSH may be an early and sensitive biochemical predictor of stress; (ii) other classical biochemical stress parameters do not depict the psycho- logical stress perceived by physicians; (iii) there may be a mismatch between experienced and objective stress levels; (iv) neurocognitive functions are not impaired, while performance may even be improved; and (v) men might be more sensitive to distress. (J Occup Health 2015; 57: 438-447)
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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