瑞典的科学家近日发现了换班工作与多发性硬化症之间的联系。那些20岁前从事长期换班工作的人会由于生理节奏紊乱和睡眠失调，而导致多发性硬化症。
该项研究的论文发表在最新一期的《Annals of Neurology》杂志上。之前已有研究表明换班工作（加夜班或轮流值班）会增加患心血管病、甲状腺失调和癌症的风险。生理节奏紊乱和睡眠失调与夜间换班工作相关，这些因素可导致退黑激素分泌紊乱和上调炎症反应，从而引起疾病的发生。多发性硬化症是中枢神经系统和免疫有关的发炎及去髓鞘疾病，因此研究各种生活方式，如换班工作，是本研究所关注的重点。
Anna Karin Hedström博士和斯德哥尔摩的卡罗林斯卡学院的科学家们分析了两组人群的数据，一组包括有1343例患有多发性硬化症的人群和2900例健康人群（新发病例），另一组包括有5129有多发性硬化症的人群和4509例健康人群（复发病例）。他们比较了不同年龄段人群中的多发性硬化症患者的换班情况（换班工作时间定义为下午9点至凌晨7点的这段时间内）。
Hedström博士说道：“我们的队列研究结果分析显示，在年轻人群中，换班工作可明显增加患多发性硬化症的几率。那些在20岁前有3年以上换班工作经历的人群患多发性硬化症的几率要高于正常人的两倍。”
论文结果虽然提示了生理节奏紊乱和睡眠失调与多发性硬化症发生相关，但具体的机理仍然不明，需要更进一步的研究。（生物探索译）
相关英文论文摘要：
Shift work at young age is associated with increased risk for multiple sclerosis
Objective: Environmental factors play a prominent role in multiple sclerosis (MS) etiology. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential association between shift work and MS risk, which has previously never been investigated.
Methods: This report is based on 2 population-based, case–control studies, 1 with incident cases (1,343 cases, 2,900 controls) and 1 with prevalent cases (5,129 cases, 4,509 controls). Using logistic regression, the occurrence of MS among subjects who have been exposed to shift work at various ages was compared with that of those who have never been exposed by calculating the odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI).
Results: In both studies, there was a significant association between working shift at a young age and occurrence of MS (OR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.2–2.1 in the incidence study and OR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.0–1.6 in the prevalence study). In the incident study, the OR of developing MS was 2.0 (95% CI, 1.2–3.6) among those who had worked shifts for 3 years or longer before age 20 years, compared with those who had never worked shifts. The OR for the corresponding comparison in the prevalent study was 2.1 (95% CI, 1.3–3.4).
Interpretation: The observed association between shift work at a young age and occurrence of MS in 2 independent studies strengthens the notion of a true relationship. Consequences of shift work such as circadian disruption and sleep restriction are associated with disturbed melatonin secretion and enhanced proinflammatory responses and may thus be part of the mechanism behind the association.
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