Nachtwerk in breder perspectief

A lot of research has been conducted into night work in recent years. This shows that people who work nights have an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease; people doing night work in the healthcare sector also have an increased risk of influenza and respiratory tract infections. There are also differences in sleep patterns, physical activity and diet between those who work at night and those who work during the day. However, at this point in time there are no effective lifestyle interventions available to lower the risks associated with night work. Along with the Health Council of the Netherlands we advise limiting night work as much as possible. Work is currently in progress on occupational medicine guidelines for night work.

Conflict of interest and financial support: potential conflicts of interest have been reported for this article. ICMJE forms provided by the authors are available online along with the full text of this article.