The change of interns’ life style after shift work: a cohort study

Students studying medicine are forced to present or get some of their education and services during night time as long shift work. Shift wok can be harm to human health. The aims of this study determine the relation between shiftwork and medical student's life style as cohorts study.

This cohort study was conducted among medical students of Babol University of medical science. Medical students, who entered in 2012, completed Life Style Questionnaire (LSQ). This Questionnaire has 10 domains and is matching the Iranian culture. Sampling was performed by census. At first 92 students passing their last year of externship filled in the research questionnaire. Then after nine months (six months after internship) they were given the same questionnaire again. Data was analyzed with SPSS version 25 software.

The mean of age student was 23 ±11.14 years. Of the 92 students, 61 (67%) were girls and 31 (33%) were boys and 21 percent of students were married. The results of the study showed that shift work reduced the overall lifestyle score of medical interns of 12 point (p< 0.001). The major reduction was for physical health (p<0/001). Internship was led the reduction of sport activity, attention to the good health (p<0/001), attention to good nourishing, controlling the weight (p=0/003), and reduction of attention to prevention of disease (p<0/001) meaningfully. It was worth noting that the shift work reduced the psychological, moral and social health of the interns meaningfully (p=0/004, p=0/003, p<0/018 respectively). Also medical students have been led to use drugs (p=0/035), and intern’s attention to environmental health have been reduced meaningfully (p<0/001); but it can’t lead to increase rate of events among interns (p=0/314). In his study we weren’t found any meaningful relation between demographic variables and life style.

Shift works in medical interns associated with the reduction of mean of lifestyle scores. Therefore improving life style and teaching the medical students about effects and ways of confront shift work problems in comparing with performing true schedule of shift work pattern is recommended.