The Impact of Working Night Shifts on Cardiac Autonomic Nervous Regulation During the Six-minute Walk Test in Nurses

To evaluate changes in heart rate variability (HRV) after the six-minute walk test (6MWT) in nurses following a night shift and explore the impact of night shift work on the regulation of the autonomic nervous system in the heart.

Thirty-five female nurses, with a mean age of 28.7 years (range 21.0-37.0 years), participated in this study. On the first and second mornings after a night shift, the nurses performed the 6MWT. During the test, electrocardiogram (ECG) signals, blood pressure, and walking distance were recorded simultaneously.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Autonomic Nervous System Imbalance
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: working night shift

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 35

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• China
  • Guangdong
    • Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510515
      • Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

The participants were nurses from Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University who worked ward shifts. The nurses in this study had one night shift every 5-10 days, from 00:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., followed by 2-3 days off.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Female nurses aged ≥ 18 years who had undergone annual physical examinations, did not have serious cardiopulmonary diseases, and were able to walk normally were considered for inclusion in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• (ⅰ) having children at home who require night care; (ⅱ) current pregnancy; (ⅲ) engaging in activities that significantly impact heart rate, such as sexual activity, 24 hours before and 24 hours after working night shifts; (ⅳ) history of thyroid dysfunction, hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, etc.; (ⅴ) experiencing upper respiratory tract infection, fever, cough, diarrhea, or other illnesses within 1 week before the planned enrollment; (ⅵ) consuming coffee or strong tea, smoking, drinking alcohol, or using other substances that affect heart rate 3 days before the planned enrollment; (ⅶ) taking β-receptor blockers, sleeping pills, psychotropic drugs, or other medications that affect heart rate; and (ⅷ) judged by the investigator to be unsuitable for participation in this study.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Delta HRV during the 6MWT	On the first and second mornings after a night shift, the nurses performed the 6MWT.During the test, electrocardiogram (ECG) signals was recorded simultaneously.	18 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 30, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 15, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): April 30, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 5, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 5, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): August 7, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 7, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 5, 2024
• Last Verified: August 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: heart rate variability; night shift; autonomic nervous system; six-minute walk test; nurses
• Other Study ID Numbers: NFEC-2024-064

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: The data of the study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No