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NCT06288568Recruiting

Night Shift Work and Biomarkers of Obesity Risk in Hospital and Industry Workers

Development and Evaluation of Nutritional Strategies to Reduce and Prevent Obesity in Shiftworkers

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 8 Sept 2025 · Not updated for over 12 months - ask the site whether it is still open

Brief summary (registry, in English)

Shift work is a well-known risk factor for the development of overweight and obesity, which may lead to downstream effects such as increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases and cancer. However, the biological and behavioral mechanisms underlying the obesogenicity of night shift work are not well understood. Population-based mechanistic studies in real life shift workers are needed to address how night shift work impacts metabolic health. The investigators aim to characterize the behavioural, environmental, and biological mechanisms and pathways for the association of night shift work and obesity across Europe. The investigators will conduct a cross sectional study in 5 European countries (Austria, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands and Poland) and recruit 1000 rotating night shift workers and day workers (200/country) from the health sector and different industries. Night and day workers will be age-frequency (3 age groups), gender and (where possible) working tasks matched. Participants will complete online questionnaires and report their diet habits in a mobile app. Body composition, dietary behavior and sensory preferences will be tested. Biologic specimens (blood, urine, saliva, hair and feces) will be collected at the workplace on a day where participants are working on a day shift (or a day off). In a subsample (Austria and Netherlands) shift workers will provide biological samples (spot blood, urine and saliva) both on a day shift and on a night shift. Biomarkers including hormones, cellular immunity and inflammation, parameters linked to gut health and metabolism of fat and sugar, appetite, oxidative stress, metabolomics and microbiota will be measured. The investigators hypothesize that compared to day workers, night shift workers will experience disrupted levels of pre-obesity markers. Higher circadian disruption, sleep disruption and mistimed eating patterns workers will be associated with more disrupted biomarker profiles. Among rotating shift workers, night shift will be associated with acute disrupted melatonin production, metabolomic profiles and composition of oral microbiota compared to a day shift.

Status (registry)
Recruiting
Study type
Observational
Enrollment
1000 (estimated)
First submitted
23 Feb 2024
Start date
1 Apr 2024
Primary completion date
1 Nov 2025
Lead sponsor
University of Vienna
Diseases
Obesity
NCT number
NCT06288568

What you commit to

  • Study type: Observational
  • Planned participants: 1000
  • From 1 Apr 2024 to the primary completion date, 1 Nov 2025
  • 1 site in 1 country
  • Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them

Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.

Who cannot take part

Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.

Prior treatment

  • Bariatric surgery

Other illness

  • Present treatment of a disease e.g. cancer radio- or chemotherapy
  • Chronic diseases if in an ongoing therapy but not after a remission (renal failure, active hepatitis, cirrhosis, myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancer)
  • Immunodeficiency syndrome, any auto-immune or auto-inflammatory diseases (e.g. type-1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis) and acute episodes of atopic diseases (atopic dermatitis, asthma, type 1 allergies such as hay fever)

Other

  • Pregnancy
  • Lactation period
  • BMI of 40 kg/m2 or above
  • Antibiotics in the last month

Who the study is looking for

  • Health care sector or industrial shift worker
  • Employed or self-employed
  • 21 years or older
  • ≥ 24 h/ week
  • Shift work duration \> 3 years and currently doing night shifts
  • 4 or more rotating night shifts/month (night shift defined as a work schedule that involves working at least 3 hours between 00:00 and 5:00), at least 2 consecutive nights/month
  • Health care sector or industrial work
  • Employed or self-employed
  • 21 years or older
  • ≥ 24 h/ week
  • No night shift or rotating shift work in the last 5 years
  • No history of night shift or rotating shift work for more than 5 years

Age in the registry: 21 years to - · Sex: All · Accepts healthy volunteers

Full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov

Sites (1)

Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.

SiteCityCountrySite status
Medical University of Vienna
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
ViennaAustriaRecruiting

This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.