A new study has found that people who work the night shift are at a higher risk of kidney stones, and research says the risk of kidney stones is 15% to 22% higher in those who work desk jobs during the night shift.
The study found that people who worked any type of shift other than the usual 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. had a 15 percent higher risk of kidney stones, and those who usually or always worked such shifts had a 19 percent higher risk than those who did not work night shifts.
Researchers said that smoking, poor sleep, lack of physical activity, high body mass index, and low water intake all increase the risk of kidney stones. According to Dr. Knopf, the effect of shift work on a person’s sleep-wake cycle, known as circadian rhythm, also contributes to this risk, which helps control the systems that regulate water balance and body chemistry in a person’s body. The UK’s National Kidney Foundation says that kidney stones are hard objects that form inside the kidneys from chemicals in the urine. These stones can cause pain inside the kidneys and when they are passed out of the body during urination.
Kidney stones can be silent or cause serious complications, especially pain that can be severe enough to require hospitalization, says Dr. Felix Knauf, a nephrologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. For the new study, researchers analyzed data from more than 220,000 people participating in the UK Biobank Health Study, with about 2,900 participants developing kidney stones during an average follow-up of about 14 years.
According to Professor Young, to improve the health of shift workers, weight control, drinking more water, getting good sleep, reducing sedentary work, and quitting smoking are measures that can reduce the negative effects of shift work and reduce the risk of kidney stones. Night shift workers can have a meaningful impact on their urological health by adopting healthy lifestyle habits.
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