8292164 Environmental factors and obesity among nurses working different shifts in Hong Kong: preliminary findings

<h3>Background</h3> Shift work is a prevalent requirement for nurses, contributing to various health challenges, including obesity. The complexities involved in managing shift schedules make administrative changes difficult to implement. Understanding how environmental modifications can impact obesity among nurses is an area that requires further exploration. <h3>Objectives</h3> This study aims to evaluate individual exposure to environmental factors such as light, noise, green and blue spaces, and air pollution, and their associations with obesity indicators, including body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, hip circumference, waist-hip ratio, and body fat percentage. <h3>Methods</h3> We plan to recruit a total of 364 nurses. Data regarding environmental conditions were collected using a comprehensive questionnaire. Obesity indicators were assessed through direct measurements and standardized questionnaires. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to investigate the relationships between environmental factors and obesity metrics. <h3>Results</h3> We have recruited 81 nurses so far. Preliminary data indicate that levels of satisfaction with workplace noise significantly correlated with obesity indicators: satisfaction with noise quality was associated with lower BMI (adjusted β: -0.192), waist circumference (adjusted β: -0.703), hip circumference (adjusted β: -0.454), waist-hip ratio (adjusted β: -0.004), and body fat percentage (adjusted β: -0.340). Other subjective environmental variables did not demonstrate statistically significant relationships with the obesity indicators. <h3>Conclusions</h3> These initial findings suggest that favorable environmental conditions, particularly in relation to perceived noise levels at work, may play a role in reducing obesity among nurses. Future publications from this ongoing research will provide further insights into the real-time monitoring of environmental factors and their impacts on obesity-related measurements. <h3>Funding</h3> GRF/RGC Ref: 14609923; CUHK Ref.: E.C./2017/006, and SSFCRS Ref.: TL/SSFCRS2223/0953/23ww.