Highlights
- •Irregular menstrual cycles are common among female Korean workers.
- •‘Pink collar’ occupations are positively associated with irregular menstrual cycles.
- •Long working hours and shift work also show such positive associations.
- •Attention should be paid to this issue to ensure the welfare of female workers.
Abstract
Objective
To examine the association between irregular menstrual cycles and occupational characteristics
among Korean female workers.
Study design
We analyzed data on paid female workers from the Korea National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey (KNHANES) V (2010–2012).
Main outcome measures
We evaluated the possible associations between irregular menstrual cycles and work
variables (occupational classification, working hours, and shift work) using univariate
and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Weighted prevalence was calculated
according to each work variable to approximate the Korean population.
Results
Irregular menstrual cycles were the most common in women in the ‘pink collar’ group
(16.61%). The frequency of irregular menstrual cycles was 2-fold higher in women working
>60 h per week (25.64%) than in those working 20–60 h per week (11.09%). Irregular
menstrual cycles were more prevalent in shift workers (15.85%) than in non-shift workers
(11.06%). A significantly high risk of irregular menstrual cycles was found for pink-collar
occupations (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.687, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.044–2.710,
reference: white-collar occupation group) and in women with long working hours (adjusted
OR = 2.139, 95% CI = 1.243–3.559, reference: 20–60 working hours group) and shift
work (adjusted OR = 1.487, 95% CI = 1.028–2.118, reference: fixed working schedule
group).
Conclusions
Our study showed associations between irregular menstrual cycles and occupational
characteristics of female workers. Long working hours, shift work, and pink-collar
occupations are positively associated with irregular menstrual cycles. Therefore,
working hours and shift schedules for female workers should be structured considering
these factors. Further research is needed to determine the optimal working time and
shift schedules for female workers.
Abbreviations:
BMI (body mass index), ISCO (International Standard Classification of Occupations), IVF (in-vitro fertilization), KNHANES (Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey), OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development)Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to MaturitasAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- SF2.3: Age of Mothers at Childbirth and Age-specific Fertility.OECD Family Database, 2018 (2018) (Accessed 3 May 2019)
- Infertility-related risk factors: a systematic review.Int. J. Women’s Heal. Reprod. Sci. 2017; 5: 24-29https://doi.org/10.15296/ijwhr.2017.05
- Ultra-low fertility in South Korea: the role of the tempo effect.Demogr. Res. 2018; 38: 549-576https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2018.38.22
- Menstrual cycle characteristics: associations with fertility and spontaneous abortion.Epidemiology. 2006; 17 (Accessed 29 April 2019): 52-60
- Menstrual cycle pattern and fertility: a prospective follow-up study of pregnancy and early embryonal loss in 295 couples who were planning their first pregnancy.Fertil. Steril. 1999; 71: 490-496https://doi.org/10.1016/S0015-0282(98)00474-9
- Menstrual cycle characteristics in fertile women from Greenland, Poland and Ukraine exposed to perfluorinated chemicals: a cross-sectional study.Hum. Reprod. 2014; 29: 359-367https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/det390
- The impact of environmental and occupational exposures on reproductive health.J. Obstet. Gynecol. Neonatal Nurs. 2010; 39: 84-102https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1552-6909.2009.01091.x
- Association between paraben exposure and menstrual cycle in female university students in Japan.Reprod. Toxicol. 2016; 63: 107-113https://doi.org/10.1016/J.REPROTOX.2016.05.010
- The impact of self-perceived job stress on menstrual patterns among Taiwanese nurses.Ind. Health. 2007; 45: 709-714https://doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.45.709
- Work and family stress is associated with menstrual disorders but not with fibrocystic changes: cross-sectional findings in Chinese working women.J. Occup. Health. 2010; 52: 361-366https://doi.org/10.1539/joh.L10057
- Work schedule and physically demanding work in relation to menstrual function: the nurses’ health study 3.Scand. J. Work. Environ. Heal. 2015; 41: 194-203https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.3482
- Menstrual-cycle characteristics and work conditions of workers in poultry slaughterhouses and canneries.Scand. J. Work. Environ. Heal. 1992; 18: 302-309https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.1572
- The associations between menstrual function and life style/working conditions among nurses in Taiwan.J. Occup. Health. 2005; 47: 149-156https://doi.org/10.1539/joh.47.149
- Rotating shift work and menstrual characteristics in a cohort of Chinese nurses.BMC Womens Health. 2016; 16: 1-9https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-016-0301-y
- Influence of shift work on early reproductive outcomes.Obstet. Gynecol. 2014; 124: 99-110https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000000321
- Night work and the reproductive health of women: an integrated literature review.J. Midwifery Women’s Heal. 2014; 59: 113-126https://doi.org/10.1111/jmwh.12052
- Relationship between menstruation status and work conditions in Japan.Biopsychosoc. Med. 2017; 11: 26https://doi.org/10.1186/s13030-017-0112-x
- The evolving concept of the healthy worker survivor effect.Epidemiology. 1994; 5: 189-196
- The impact of working hours on cardiovascular diseases and moderating effects of sex and type of work: results from a longitudinal analysis of the Korean working population.J. Occup. Environ. Med. 2019; 61: e247-e252https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000001588
- Metabolic outcomes of workers according to the international standard classification of occupations in Korea.Am. J. Ind. Med. 2016; 59: 685-694https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.22596
- International Standard Classification of Occupations.ISCO-08, Geneva2012
- Predictors and estimation of risk for early exit from working life by poor health among middle and older aged workers in Korea.Sci. Rep. 2018; 8: 5180https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-23523-y
- Metabolic outcomes of workers according to the international standard classification of occupations in Korea.Am. J. Ind. Med. 2016; 59: 685-694https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.22596
- Effect of Occupation on Menstrual Cycle Length: Causal Model.1995 (Accessed 17 January 2019)
- The influence of occupational physical activity on the menstrual cycle and fecundability.Epidemiology. 1994; 5 (Accessed 19 January 2019): 14-18
- Menstrual characteristics and night work among nurses.Ind. Health. 2015; 53: 354-360https://doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2014-0214
- A novel and compact review on the role of oxidative stress in female reproduction.Reprod. Biol. Endocrinol. 2018; 16: 1-18https://doi.org/10.1186/s12958-018-0391-5
- Oxidative DNA damage estimated by urinary 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine and arsenic in glass production workers.Toxicol. Ind. Health. 2012; 28: 513-521https://doi.org/10.1177/0748233711416945
- Work intensity, low-grade inflammation, and oxidative status: a comparison between office and slaughterhouse workers.Oxid. Med. Cell. Longev. 2018; 20182737563https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/2737563
- Menstrual disorders and occupational, stress, and racial factors among military personnel.J. Occup. Environ. Med. 2000; 42 (Accessed 25 January 2019): 871-881
- Menstrual cycle and workplace issues: review of the literature.Psique. 2013; 9 (Accessed 17 January 2019): 31-55
- Work stress and menstrual patterns among American and Italian nurses.Scand. J. Work. Environ. Heal. 1999; 25: 144-150https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.417
- Impact of stress on oocyte quality and reproductive outcome.J. Biomed. Sci. 2016; 23: 36https://doi.org/10.1186/s12929-016-0253-4
- Stressful life events are associated with a poor in-vitro fertilization (IVF) outcome: a prospective study.Hum. Reprod. 2009; 24: 2173-2182https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dep185
- Acute psychological stress simultaneously alters hormone levels, recruitment of lymphocyte subsets, and production of reactive oxygen species.Immunol. Invest. 2002; 31 (Accessed 26 January 2019): 73-91
- Menstrual cycle abnormalities in healthy women with low physical activity: the north-trøndelag population-based health study.J. Phys. Act. Heal. 2014; 11: 1133-1140https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2012-0284
- Nutrition and fertility.Minerva Gastroenterol. Dietol. 2007; 53 (Accessed 25 January 2019): 375-382
- Melatonin and the circadian system: contributions to successful female reproduction.Fertil. Steril. 2014; 102: 321-328https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2014.06.014
- Melatonin production and light exposure of rotating night workers.Chronobiol. Int. 2012; 29: 203-210https://doi.org/10.3109/07420528.2011.647177
- Rotating-shift nurses after a day off: peripheral clock gene expression, urinary melatonin, and serum 17-β-estradiol levels.Scand. J. Work. Environ. Heal. 2014; 40: 295-304https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.3414
- The association between long working hours and health: a systematic review of epidemiological evidence.Scand. J. Work. Environ. Heal. 2014; 40: 5-18https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.3388
- Gender differences in work and well-being: effects of exposure and vulnerability.J. Health Soc. Behav. 1996; 37: 265https://doi.org/10.2307/2137296
- Irregular menstruation according to occupational status.Women Heal. 2017; 58: 1-16https://doi.org/10.1080/03630242.2017.1342740
Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 02, 2019
Accepted:
July 21,
2019
Received in revised form:
July 12,
2019
Received:
March 3,
2019
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
