Table 1
Distribution of gastrointestinal symptomsa
| Complaints | Day Worker | Shift Workers | Total | PV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diarrhea | positive | 3(11) | 28(21) | 31(19) | 0.2 |
| negative | 24(89) | 105(79) | 129(81) | ||
| Constipation | positive | 10(37) | 50(37) | 60(37) | 0.9 |
| negative | 17(63) | 83(63) | 100(63) | ||
| Bloating | positive | 9(33) | 70(52) | 79(49) | 0.06 |
| negative | 18(67) | 63(48) | 81(51) | ||
| Regurgitation | positive | 13(48) | 71(53) | 84(52) | 0.6 |
| negative | 14(52) | 62(47) | 76(48) | ||
| Heart-Burn | positive | 8(29) | 55(41) | 63(39) | 0.25 |
| negative | 19(71) | 78(59) | 97(61) | ||
| Melena | positive | 0(0) | 3(2) | 3(2) | 1 |
| negative | 17(100) | 130(98) | 157(98) |
a Entries are number of workers. Percentage of total workers is indicated in parenthesis. P-values was calculated by χ2 and Fisher exact test, as appropriate
Table 2
Number of GI symptom complaintsa
| Number of Complaints | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morning workers | 5(17.2) | 2(10.5) | 3(12) | 4(11.4) | 1(10) | 1(14.2) |
| Shift workers | 24(82.7) | 17(89.5) | 22(88) | 31(88.6) | 9(90) | 8(85.8) |
| Total | 29 | 19 | 25 | 35 | 10 | 7 |
a Entries are number of workers. Percentage of total workers is indicated in parenthesis.
Table 3
Subjects with at least one GI symptom, divided by age groupsa
| Age Groups | Morning only | Shift working | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20-29 | positive | 1 | 38 | 39 |
| negative | 2 | 2 | 10 | |
| 30-39 | positive | 13 | 58 | 71 |
| negative | 8 | 8 | 16 | |
| 40-49 | positive | 1 | 13 | 14 |
| negative | 1 | 8 | 9 | |
| 50< | positive | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| negative | 0 | 0 | 0 |
a p = 0.015, tested by Fisher exact test.
Table 4
Number of subjects using at least one gastrointestinal medicationa
| Gender | yes | no | total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | 3 | 6 | 9 | |
| Male | Shift | 20 | 14 | 34 |
| Total | 23 | 20 | 43 | |
| Day | 5 | 13 | 18 | |
| Female | Shift | 62 | 62 | 99 |
| Total | 67 | 50 | 117 |
a There is a significant difference between male and female (p = 0.032) and between day workers and shift workers (p = 0.002).
Table 5
Distribution of gastrointestinal medication types used by nurses
| Type of medication | Day workers | Shift workers | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSAID | 4 | 50 | 54 |
| H2 Blockers1 | 3 | 24 | 27 |
| Antacis2 | 2 | 32 | 34 |
| Cliniduim-C | 1 | 17 | 18 |
| Metoclopramide | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| Omeprazole | 1 | 12 | 13 |
| Laxatives3 | 3 | 12 | 15 |
| Dimethicone | 0 | 3 | 3 |
1 histamine type 2 receptor antagonists: ranitidine, famotidin nizatidine, etc.
2 all aluminum/magnesium hydrocholoride, etc.
3 all kinds of laxative from various categories such as docustate, bisacodyl, sennacastor oil, etc.