Shift workers have a similar diet quality but higher energy intake than day workers

OBJECTIVE: Shift work is associated with adverse health outcomes, and an unhealthy diet may be a contributing factor. We compared diet quantity and quality between day and shift workers, and studied exposure-response relationships regarding frequency of night shifts and years of shift work. METHODS: Cross-sectional general population data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Netherlands (EPIC-NL) cohort was used. Dietary intake was assessed in 1993-1997 among adults aged 20-70 years using a food frequency questionnaire. We calculated energy intake, the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) and WHO-based Healthy Diet Indicator (HDI). In 2011-2014, we retrospectively identified 683 shift workers and 7173 day workers in 1993-1997. Using multivariable-adjusted linear regression analysis, we estimated regression coefficients (β) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of the differences in dietary intake between day and shift workers. RESULTS: Shift workers had a higher energy intake than day workers (β:56 kcal/d, 95% CI 10-101), and a higher consumption of grains, dairy products, meat and fish (P