ArticlePloS one2023
The association between shift work exposure and cognitive impairment among middle-aged and older adults: Results from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA).
Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses 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
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exercise interventions for sleep and cognitive dysfunction in shift workers: a systematic review of randomized trials.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Imbalanced sleep increases mortality risk by 14-34%: a meta-analysis.GeroScience · 2025Pooled it
- Review
- Circadian gatekeepers of the gut-brain-immune axis: implications for neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2026Review
- Spatiotemporally dynamic noradrenergic regulation of cortical networks.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Mapping social determinants of cognitive health in Canada: a scoping review.Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice · 2025Article
- Intestinal Clock Promotes Cognitive Memory Through Adenosine Signaling.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Association between shift work and brain age gap: a neuroimaging study using MRI-based brain age prediction algorithms.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2025Article
- Associations between circadian alignment and cognitive functioning in a nationally representative sample of older adults.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Design of overnight radiology shifts - primum non nocere.Emergency radiology · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundShift work, especially rotating and night shift work, has been linked to a wide range of detrimental health outcomes. Occupational factors like shift work and their potential impact on cognitive functions have received little attention, and the evidence is inconclusive. The objective of our study is to explore associations between shift work exposure and cognitive impairment indicators based on comparisons with the normative standards from the Canadian population.
methodsCross-sectional analyses were performed using baseline Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging database, including 47,811 middle-aged and older adults (45-85 years). Three derived shift work variables were utilized: ever exposed to shift work, shift work exposure in longest job, and shift work exposure in current job. Four cognitive function tests were utilized, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Tests (immediate and delayed) representing memory domain, and Animal Fluency, and Mental Alteration, representing the executive function domain. All cognitive test scores included in study were normalized and adjusted for the participant's age, sex, education and language of test administration (English and French), which were then compared to normative data to create "cognitive impairment' variables. Unadjusted and adjusted multivariable logistic regression models were used to determine associations between shift work variables and cognitive impairment individually (memory and executive function domains), and also for overall cognitive impairment.
resultOverall, one in every five individuals (21%) reported having been exposed to some kind of shift work during their jobs. Exposure to night shift work (both current and longest job) was associated with overall cognitive impairment. In terms of domain-based measures, night shift work (longest job) was associated with memory function impairment, and those exposed to rotating shift work (both current and longest job) showed impairment on executive function measures, when compared to daytime workers.
conclusionThis study suggests disruption to the circadian rhythm, due to shift work has negative impact on cognitive function in middle-aged and older adults and this warrants further investigation.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.