Factors Related to the Risk of Stroke among Factories Shift Workers

Abstract

Objective: To assess the level of stroke risk and examine the relationships between personal factors, work-related factors, stroke-related knowledge, and health behaviors with stroke risk among shift workers in industrial factories. Methods: The sample consisted of 1,375 employees working on production lines in establishments operating on a shift basis, each with at least one year of work experience. Data was collected self-administered questionnaires and health examinations. Descriptive statistics, simple and multiple binary logistic regression were applied at a significant 5% level. Results: The findings indicated that 6.0% of employees had a high risk of stroke, 3.7% were at a monitoring level, and 90.3% were at a low risk. Most employees (87.3%) were female, with an average age of 35 years; 63.3% were single, 54.8% had family members to support, and 87.1% had no underlying diseases. Most participants worked on production lines and had average work experience of 9.2 years. A total of 90.5% worked overtime, and 42.1% reported relatively low work stress. Only 25.0% had good knowledge about stroke. Consumption of sweet, fatty, and salty foods was at a moderately high-risk level. Additionally, 36.1% slept an average of 7–8 hours per day, and 51.9% had never consumed alcohol. Gender, age, and underlying diseases were significantly associated with stroke risk (p-value<0.010). Male employees, older workers, and those with longer work duration were at higher risk of stroke than others. Conclusion: To reduce stroke risk among shift workers, health promotion and educational programs on stroke including health screening, increasing physical activity, and improving dietary habits, particularly reducing sweet, fatty, and salty foods are strongly recommended.