Association between Chronotype and Social Factors in Shift Workers: A Descriptive, Quantitative and Exploratory Study

The goal of this study was to determine the chronotype of shift workers at a wholesale organisation, to analyse worker sleep on working days and off days, and to confirm the relationships between sociodemographic characteristics and different work shifts with chronotypes. Most biological and behavioral parameters are synchronized to 24-hour periods by light/dark cycle. Subjects who live under the same environmental conditions can present individual differences that affect the expression of circadian rhythm. Thus, this study identified and analyzed the association between chronotype with sociodemographic variables and the different work shifts. The study was about shift workers from a wholesale company in Poços de Caldas, Brazil. The following tools were used: Sociodemographic characteristics and Munich Chronotype questionnaire. Ninety-four shift workers participated in the study. About 40.43% of shift workers had the chronotype moderately morning, followed by the intermediate type. It was also demonstrated that there is a significant association between sociodemographic variables and shift with different chronotypes. The study observed with this work that there are significant associations between age, marital status, having children and working shifts with determining chronotype these workers, and the morningness subjects are working on the night shift. These individuals may become vulnerable to diseases related to sleep deprivation, such as depression, low immunity, hypertension and obesity.