A longitudinal study of the relationship between shift work and prostate-specific antigen in healthy male workers

As shift work has become prevalent globally, it is important to evaluate the health effects of shift work on employees. Several studies have demonstrated a positive association between shift work and prostate cancer. Therefore, we aimed to further examine the relationship between shift work and elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Our study collected data from 66,817 male participants at baseline and followed up for about 6 years. We categorized shift worker status and shift schedule types. To evaluate the risk of elevated PSA on shift workers, we estimated hazard ratios using the Cox proportional hazards regression analyses. During a median follow-up of 4.1 years, 1030 participants developed elevated PSA. The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of elevated PSA for shift workers compared with daytime workers was 1.37 (1.04–1.80). Among shift workers, rotating shift workers (HR = 1.47, 95% CI 1.06–2.03) showed a significantly increased risk of elevated PSA compared with daytime workers. Our longitudinal study provides evidence for an association between shift work, especially rotating shift work, and elevations of PSA.