SynthesisOccupational and environmental medicine2012
The association between shift work and sick leave: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Occupational and environmental medicine, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 90 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence of Shift Work Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Pooled it
- The effect of a self-help book for shift work disorder - a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Trial
- The effectiveness of an individualized sleep and shift work education and coaching program to manage shift work disorder in nurses: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2022Trial
- Shift work and medically certified sickness absence due to common mental disorders among nursing staff: a prospective cohort study.European journal of public health · 2026Article
- Nurse shift patterns, staffing and their association with perceived workload: Sequence analysis of multicentre data.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2025Article
- Dual trajectories of short-term and long-term sickness absence and their social- and health-related determinants among women in the public sector.European journal of public health · 2024Article
- Determinants of sickness absence in police: Case study of Abu Dhabi police department, UAE.Heliyon · 2024Article
- Long-term sickness absence trajectories among ageing municipal employees - the contribution of social and health-related factors.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Early retirement intentions among Abu Dhabi Police: investigating the role of psychosocial work factors and sickness absenteeism.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Night and evening shifts and risk of calling in sick within the next two days - a case-crossover study design based on day-to-day payroll data.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2023Article
- Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis on the associations between shift work and sickness absence.Systematic reviews · 2022Article
- Effects of Factors Related to Shift Work on Depression and Anxiety in Nurses.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- The significant association between quick return and depressive symptoms and sleep disturbances in paid workers: A nationwide survey.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- The associations of working hour characteristics with short sickness absence among part- and full-time retail workers.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2021Article
- The impact of extending nurse working hours on staff sickness absence: Evidence from a large mental health hospital in England.International journal of nursing studies · 2020Article
- Timing matters: worker absenteeism in a weekly backward rotating shift model.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2020Article
- The Association between Shift Work and Health-Related Productivity Loss due to Either Sickness Absence or Reduced Performance at Work: A Cross-Sectional Study of Korea.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Implementing sensor technology applications for workplace health promotion: a needs assessment among workers with physically demanding work.BMC public health · 2019Article
- Long working hours are inversely related to sick leave in the following 3 months: a 4-year registry study.International archives of occupational and environmental health · 2019Article
- Are long nursing shifts on hospital wards associated with sickness absence? A longitudinal retrospective observational study.Journal of nursing management · 2019Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Shift work is associated with a number of negative health outcomes, although it is not known whether it is associated with sick leave. This systematic review therefore aimed to determine whether an association exists between shift work and sick leave. A systematic literature search was conducted in six databases on observational studies. Two reviewers independently selected relevant articles and appraised methodological quality. Data extraction was performed independently by review couples. Articles were categorised according to shift work characteristics and summarised using a levels of evidence synthesis. In total, the search strategy yielded 1207 references, of which 24 studies met the inclusion criteria. Nine studies were appraised as high quality and used in the levels of evidence synthesis. Two high quality longitudinal studies found a positive association between fixed evening shifts and longer sick leave for female healthcare workers. The evidence was assessed as strong. Evidence was inconclusive for rotating shifts, shift work including nights, for fixed night work, and for 8-hour and 12-hour shifts. The association found between evening work and sick leave in female healthcare workers implies that the association between shift work and sick leave might be schedule and population specific. To study the association further, more high quality studies are necessary that assess and adjust for detailed shift work exposure.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.