Physicians with restless legs syndrome are more likely to fail in the written test to get in the residency program in Brazil

Introduction: This study investigated the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) and its association with demographic, socioeconomic and behavioral factors in shift workers. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 902 shift workers of both sexes in a poultry processing plant in Southern Brazil. The diagnosis of MS was determined according to the recommendations from ‘‘Harmonizing the Metabolic Syndrome’’; and its distribution was evaluated according to the demographic (gender, skin color, age and marital status) socioeconomic (schooling, income and work shift) and behavioral characteristics (smoking, alcohol intake, leisure physical activity, number of meals and sleep duration) of the sample. The multivariate analysis followed a theoretical framework for determining MS on shift workers. Results: The prevalence of MS on the sample was 9.3% (IC95%: 7,4– 11,2). The most frequent altered component was waist circumference (RP 48,4; IC95% 45,5–51,2). After adjustment, the prevalence of MS was positively associated with women (RP 2,16; IC95% 1,28– 3,64), workers of over 40 years of age (RP 3,90; IC95%: 1,78–8,93) and those who reported sleeping five or less hours per day (RP 1,70; IC95%: 1,09–2,24). On the other hand, MS was negatively correlated with higher educational level (RP 0,55; C 0,29–1,06) and having more than three meals per day (RP 0,43 IC95% 0,26–0,73). Conclusion: Sex, age, educational level, eating habits and duration of sleep appeared as independent risk factors for MS in shift workers. Acknowledgements: This study was supported by the National Council of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq; grants 477069/2009-6 and 478366/2011-6). R. Canuto received a scholarship from the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduated Education (CAPES). M.T.A. Olinto and M.P. Pattussi received research productivity grants from CNPq (grants 304793/ 2010-8 and 303424/2011-7).