Overview

• The study, published in ERJ Open Research, analyzed work-pattern and health data from 274,541 UK Biobank participants.
• Women who worked only night shifts were about 50% more likely to develop moderate to severe asthma than those working exclusively during the day.
• Men showed no change in asthma risk regardless of whether they worked day or night shifts.
• In postmenopausal women not on hormone replacement therapy, night shift work was associated with nearly double the risk of severe asthma.
• Researchers plan to explore hormonal influences and circadian rhythm disruption further using additional UK Biobank and Our Future Health data.