Login to Access Video or Poster Abstract: MP91-06
Sources of Funding: AWP is a K12 scholar supported by a Male Reproductive Health Research (MRHR) Career Development Physician-Scientist Award (Grant # HD073917-01) from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Program

Introduction

Non-standard shift workers, who regularly work hours outside a 7am-6pm workday, may have worse hypogonadal symptoms relative to daytime workers, and are also at increased risk for shift work sleep disorder (SWSD), a primary circadian rhythm disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness associated with shift work. Here we examine the association between SWSD and hypogonadal symptoms in shift workers.

Methods

Men presenting to a single andrology clinic between July 2014 - September 2016 completed questionnaires assessing shift work schedule, SWSD risk, and hypogonadal symptoms (quantitative Androgen Deficiency in the Aging Male (qADAM) questionnaire). The impact of non-standard shift work and SWSD on responses to qADAM was assessed utilizing ANOVA and linear regression.

Results

Of the 2,487 men who completed the questionnaires, 766 (30.8%) reported working non-standard shifts in the past month. Of those, 282 (36.8%) were diagnosed with SWSD (Table 1). Controlling for age, comorbidities and testosterone (T) levels, non-standard shift workers had qADAM scores 0.8 points lower than daytime workers (p<0.01). Sub-group analysis of the non-standard shift workers showed that those with SWSD had qADAM scores 3.9 points lower than in men without SWSD (p<0.01). In this same sub-group analysis, SWSD was independently associated with lower testosterone (T) levels (mean decrease 100.4 ng/dL, p<0.01) when controlling for age, comorbidities and history of T supplementation.

Conclusions

Non-standard shift workers have more severe hypogonadal symptoms than daytime workers, and those non-standard shift workers with SWSD have even worse hypogonadal symptoms and lower T levels than those without. These findings suggest that poor sleep habits, as identified by SWSD, may contribute to the more severe hypogonadal symptoms seen in non-standard shift workers.

Funding

AWP is a K12 scholar supported by a Male Reproductive Health Research (MRHR) Career Development Physician-Scientist Award (Grant # HD073917-01) from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Program