Higher risk for epilepsy also seen for sleep duration less than seven or more than eight hours per day, frequent insomnia, and daytime sleepiness<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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TUESDAY, Dec. 10, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Night shifts and poor sleep quality are associated with an increased risk for incident epilepsy, according to a study published online Nov. 29 in BMC Public Health<\/em>.<\/p>\n Xushuai Dong, from the Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University in Jinan, China, and colleagues examined whether there is a positive association between night shift work, sleep quality, sleep behaviors, and the risk for epilepsy in a study including 270,000 individuals with or without epilepsy from the U.K. Biobank followed over 13.5 years.<\/p>\n The researchers observed a positive association for night shift work with a higher risk for epilepsy. A gradual increase was seen in epilepsy risk from never\/rarely to usual\/permanent night shift work; the highest risk was seen for usual\/permanent night shift work (hazard ratio, 1.29). Sleep quality was also significantly associated with the risk for epilepsy. A higher risk for epilepsy was seen in association with sleep duration (less than seven or more than eight hours\/day), frequent insomnia, and daytime sleepiness (hazard ratios, 1.19, 1.19, and 1.46, respectively). A U-shaped association was seen for sleep duration with epilepsy risk. No significant association was found between sleep chronotype and snoring and incident epilepsy risk.<\/p>\n “In conclusion, our study suggests a positive association between current night shift work, sleep quality, and risk of epilepsy,” the authors write. “These insights have significant implications for primary prevention strategies for epilepsy in public health.”<\/p>\n