A cardiovascular study of shift workers with respect to coronary artery disease risk factor prevalence.

Fifty-seven shift workers were matched for age, cigarette smoking and blue-collar/white-collar status against day worker controls. The recognised coronary heart disease risk factors, blood pressure, body mass index, random plasma cholesterol and resting electrocardiograms were compared between both groups. None of these investigations gave a statistically significant difference between the two groups. The study supports the conclusion of previous morbidity and mortality studies which have failed to show any conclusive evidence of an adverse effect of shift working on the cardiovascular system.