Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40960631›Full record

SynthesisInternational archives of occupational and environmental health2025

Shift work and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: a systematic review of observational studies.

Bingya Ma, Yihang Fan, Wenjun Fan

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in International archives of occupational and environmental health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Bingya MaDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA. bingyam@uci.edu.ORCID 0009-0002-0552-763X
Yihang FanDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Wenjun FanDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveShift work disrupts the circadian rhythm and may increase the risk of metabolic disorders, including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, recently redefined as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), and its progressive form, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis. This systematic review aimed to synthesize observational studies on the association between shift work and MASLD.

methodsA comprehensive literature search was conducted in the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases up to November 25, 2024, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Data were extracted and summarized based on pre-specified inclusion and exclusion criteria. The National Institutes of Health quality assessment tool was used to evaluate the quality of the included studies. Both data extraction and quality assessment were conducted independently by two authors, with disagreements resolved through consensus.

resultsNine studies met the criteria and were included in the review, including various occupational groups. Most studies reported a positive association between shift work and MASLD, with stronger effects observed in workers exposed to long-term or frequent shift work. Subgroup and interaction analyses suggested that gender, age, lifestyle, chronotype, and occupational factors may modify this association, while body mass index was identified as a potential mediator of the relationship between shift work and MASLD. However, methodological issues, such as imprecise exposure and outcome measurements and a lack of time-varying analysis, limit causal interpretation.

conclusionThe systematic review supports an association between shift work and increased MASLD risk. Further prospective studies with rigorous designs and diverse populations, as well as stronger mechanistic evidence, are needed to establish a causal link between shift work and MASLD.

Indexed as

Fatty LiverMetabolic DiseasesNon-alcoholic Fatty Liver DiseaseShift Work ScheduleHumansMaleObservational Studies as TopicRisk FactorsCircadian disruptionMASHMASLDShift workSystematic review

Identifiers

PMID40960631
PMCPMC12672679

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.