Keywords
biopsychosocial medicine; endocrine; gynecology; occupational health; 83
reproductive health. 84
85
86
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Statement of authorship 87
Acknowledgment 88
The authors wish to thank Dr. Daisuke Shigemi (obstetrician-gynecologist) for a valuable suggestion 89
on the variable selection. 90
91
Author’s contribution 92
NS, KI, KW, EM, HE, AI, KT, YH, YKom, MIi, YO, ASa, YA, MIw, YKob, RI, ASh, A T, and NK 93
substantially contributed to the conception and design of the study, writing of the protocol, and 94
revising it critically for important intellectual content. All authors approved the final version of the 95
manuscript. 96
97
Funding statement 98
This study is supported by The University of Tokyo Occupational Mental Health (TOMH) Research 99
Fund, obtained from the Department of Mental Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The 100
University of Tokyo, Japan. 101
102
Role of the Funder/Sponsor: The sponsors had no role in the design and conduct of the study; 103
collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; in the preparation, review, or 104
approval of the manuscript; and in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. 105
106
Registry and registration number of the study/trial: The study protocol was registered at the 107
UMIN registry (registration number: UMIN000039488). The registration date is 14th Feb 2020. 108
URL: https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-bin/ctr/ctr_view_reg.cgi?recptno=R000044704 109
110
Conflict of interest: All authors declare no conflict of interest related the submitted work. 111
112
Data availability statement : All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable 113
request to the authors. 114
115
116
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Objective
This systematic review aimed to evaluate the association between psychosocial 118
factors at work and menstrual abnormalities or fertility by collecting the literature that had 119
utilized a longitudinal or prospective cohort design. 120
Data sources : MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, and Japan Medical 121
Abstracts Society electronic databases were searched for published studies from inception to 122
26th February 2020. 123
Study eligibility criteria: The inclusion criteria for this systematic review were defined as 124
follows: (P) Adult female workers (over 18 years old), (E) Presence of adverse psychosocial 125
factors at work, (C) Absence of adverse psychosocial factors at work, and (O) Any menstrual 126
cycle disorders, menstrual-related symptoms, or fertility. The study design was limited to 127
prospective/longitudinal studies. 128
Study appraisal and synthesis methods : The included studies were descriptively summarized 129
in a narrative format. 130
Results
Database searching yielded 12,868 abstracts. After the screening process, six studies 131
were included. The outcomes were fertility (n=3), early menopause (n=1), endometriosis (n=1), 132
and serum hormones (n=1). Three included studies presented significant findings: women with 133
high job demands were significantly less likely to conceive; working over 40 hours per week 134
and lifting or moving a heavy load >15 times per day significantly increased the duration of 135
pregnancy attempts; women with rotating night shift work had increased risk of earlier 136
menopause. All the study (n=3) that examined the association of night shift/rotating work with 137
fertility outcomes showed no significant difference. No study investigated the association of 138
psychosocial factors at work with menstrual abnormality. 139
Conclusion
This review revealed insufficient high-level evidence on the association of 140
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psychosocial factors at work with fertility and menstrual disorders. Future well-designed studies 141
are needed. 142
Trial registration : The study protocol was registered at the UMIN registry (registration 143
number: UMIN000039488). The registration date is 14th Feb 2020. 144
URL: https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-bin/ctr/ctr_view_reg.cgi?recptno=R000044704 145
Review protocol: Protocol paper is available in preprint format. 146
URL:https://assets.researchsquare.com/files/rs-179301/v1/48845b10-5ec4-4d48-8918-3dcf0e0e147
dded.pdf?c=1631873381 148
149
150
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Introduction
151
Menstrual abnormalities are a crucial issue in women’s health. Menstrual cycle 152
irregularities increased the risk of premature death, 1 ovarian and breast cancer, 2,3 153
cardiovascular disease,4 and diabetes. 5 Moreover, fertility is essential for reproductive 154
health and rights among preconceptual working-aged women. Menstrual characteristics 155
and fertility are thus important indicators in occupational health settings. 156
Menstrual cycle and ovarian functions are regulated by sex hormones (i.e., the 157
hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian [HPO] axis); however, they are often disrupted by 158
psychosocial factors6,7 through activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal [HPA] 159
axis.8 Psychosocial factors at work provide potential risks of activating the HPA axis 160
and releasing cortisol due to psychological stress reactions, leading to menstrual 161
disorders. For instance, some literature showed significant associations: low job control, 162
co-worker support, and job security with high menstrual pain, 9 low supervisor support 163
with menopausal symptoms, 10 strenuous work with premenstrual symptoms, 11,12 work 164
schedule variability with irregular cycles, 13,14 time pressure and fast work speed with 165
perimenstrual symptoms,15 and job strain (a combination of high job demands and low 166
job control) with cycle length irregularities. 16 The study design of many of them was 167
cross-sectional, leading to limited evidence and suggestions for appropriate practices in 168
the women’s occupational health field. 169
The HPA-HPO axis interaction is affected by circadian sleep control, 17,18 The 170
relation between night/shift work and menstrual disorders has been thus often described, 171
and a meta-analysis by Stocker et al. (2014), 19 which included a cross-sectional design, 172
showed that shift work increased the risk of menstrual disruption and infertility 19. 173
However, more recent literature showed inconsistent results in the association of shift 174
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work with ovarian function.20-22 Lim et al. (2016) reported no association between shift 175
work and ovarian functions or menstrual disorders in a cross-sectional design. 20 In 176
contrast, Minguez-Alarcon et al. (2017) reported that non-day work schedules were 177
inversely related to oocyte production and quality among women receiving fertility 178
treatment in a cross-sectional design.21 Only one longitudinal study by Albert-Sabater et 179
al. (2016) reported that nurses on the rotating shift did not show an increased risk of 180
having menstrual disorders compared with day staff.22 Since most studies were adopted 181
a cross-sectional design (i.e., one cycle was treated as one individual outcome), the 182
topics of shift work with menstruation require further investigations. 183
The association between psychosocial factors at work and menstrual 184
abnormalities or fertility has not been systematically presented yet. Longitudinal studies 185
should be summarized for concrete conclusions. The aim of this systematic review was 186
thus to investigate whether psychosocial factors at work impact menstrual 187
characteristics or fertility, limiting the literature that has utilized a longitudinal or 188
prospective cohort design, assessing the outcome both at baseline and follow-up. 189
190
Method
191
Study design 192
The method was reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic 193
Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA 2020) guidelines. 23 The study protocol has been 194
registered at the UMIN registry (registration number: UMIN000039488 URL: 195
https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-bin/ctr/ctr_view_reg.cgi?recptno=R000044704). The 196
registration date is 14th Feb 2020. The protocol paper has been available elsewhere.24 197
198
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PECO and Eligibility criteria 199
The eligible participants, exposures, comparisons, and outcomes (PECO) of this 200
systematic review are listed in Table 1. PECO was: P: adult female workers (over 18 201
years old), E: adverse psychosocial factors at work (+), C: adverse psychosocial factors at 202
work (-), and O: menstrual disorders, related symptoms, reproductive outcomes. The 203
study design was restricted only longitudinal or prospective manner. The study was also 204
excluded if the cross-sectional analysis method was applied, even if the study used a 205
longitudinal design. The language was limited to English or Japanese. 206
207
Search and Information Sources 208
Databases including PubMed (MEDLINE), Embase, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, and 209
the Japan Medical Abstract Society database were searched for publications from 210
inception to 26th February 2020. The details of the search terms are shown in Appendix 211
1. The search terms for psychosocial factors at work were defined based on the previous 212
meta-analysis.25-28 The search terms for outcome variables were initially selected by an 213
investigator (NS) who reviewed previous systematic reviews handling menstrual-related 214
health.19,29-32 The medical doctor in obstetrics and gynecology (outside the research 215
members) confirmed the search terms before searching. The terms were amended to 216
exclude infectious, inflammatory disease, and pelvic organ prolapse due to the lack of 217
probability that psychosocial work-related factors cause these. 218
219
Study selection 220
Microsoft Excel (Washington, USA) was used to manage all identified studies. An 221
investigator (NS) excluded duplicate records. The remaining articles were shared with 222
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16 investigators (NS, KI, KW, EM, HE, AI, KT, YH, YKom, MIi, YO, ASa, YA, MIw, 223
YKob, and RI); Pairs of them independently assessed the title and abstract of each 224
article according to the eligibility criteria (shifting phase: first screening). Subsequently, 225
two investigators independently reviewed the full texts that were included in the first 226
screening. Any disagreements were discussed until reaching a consensus by all authors. 227
The reasons why studies were excluded were recorded during the full-text review phase. 228
229
Data collection process and data items 230
Data were extracted independently from eligible articles by 16 investigators (NS, KI, 231
KW, EM, HE, AI, KT, YH, YKom, MIi, YO, ASa, YA, MIw, YKob, and RI). An 232
investigator (NS) integrated and formatted the information on publication year, study 233
design, the country of study origin, the number of participants completing the baseline 234
survey and included in the statistical analysis, demographic characteristics of the 235
participants (i.e., age, occupation), the length of follow-up and attrition rate, exposure 236
variables (i.e., adverse psychosocial factors at work), and outcome variables (i.e., 237
menstrual abnormalities, fertility). 238
239
Risk of Bias in individual Studies 240
The risk of bias in observational studies of exposures (ROBINS-I) tool was used to 241
assess the quality of included studies. Investigators (NS, KI, KW, ASa, and YH) 242
independently scored the bias classified as low, high, or unclear. Discrepancies in 243
quality assessment among the investigators were solved by discussion and consensus 244
among all authors. A Summary of Findings (SoF) will be created using the Grading of 245
Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach to 246
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grade the certainty of evidence. 247
248
Synthesis of Results and Meta-Analysis 249
For the main analysis, we synthesized all types of psychosocial factors at work and all 250
types of menstrual-related disorders/symptoms. Meta-analysis was conducted if at least 251
three eligible studies were found to have the same outcome. If a meta-analysis was not 252
appropriate (i.e., only two or fewer studies were eligible and included), the results were 253
presented in a narrative format. 254
255
Changes to the protocol 256
To examine the association between exposure and outcome longitudinally, the study 257
applied a cross-sectional fashioned analysis (i.e., one menstrual cycle was treated as an 258
individual unit of outcome) was excluded. 259
260
Result
261
Database searching 262
Database searching yielded 12,868 abstracts (PubMed n = 2,823, EMBASE n = 9,340, 263
PsycINFO n = 608, Japan Medical Abstracts Society n = 97). After removing 1,435 264
duplicates, 11,433 records were included in the first screening, after which 11,395 265
records were excluded, and 38 records proceeded to full-text screening. Subsequently, 266
32 studies that did not meet the criteria for design (n=13), 11-16,20-22,33-36 participants 267
(n=4),37-40 exposures (n=10), 41-50 outcomes (n=2), 51,52 article type (n=1), 53 and 268
duplicates (n=2) were excluded. Finally, six studies were included in the systematic 269
qualitative review.54-59 The meta-analysis was not conducted due to insufficient studies 270
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based on our protocol. The flowchart of study selection is shown in Figure 1. 271
272
Study description 273
The characteristics of the six included studies are shown in Table 2. Three studies 274
treated fertility outcomes. 55,57,59 Earlier menopause, 56 and incident diagnosis of 275
endometriosis,58 and serum reproductive hormone 54 were each measured by one study. 276
No study was found which outcome was menstrual abnormalities. Three of the six 277
studies retrieved their data from the nurse’s health study (NHS). All studies measured 278
shift work as an adverse psychosocial factor at work. Each study reported job 279
demands59 and long working hours. 57 280
281
Although authors designed the protocol to conduct a meta-analysis if at least three 282
eligible studies were found with the same outcome, fertility outcomes of included 283
studies varied, and it was difficult to synthesize the findings: time to pregnancy, 55 the 284
current duration of participants’ ongoing pregnancy attempt,57 and conception.59 285
286
Regarding the three studies focusing on fertility outcomes, Barzilai-Pesach et al. 287
(2006)59 prospectively evaluated the association between women’s occupational stress 288
factors (i.e., job demands, decisional latitude, shift work, and working hours, measured 289
using a self-reported questionnaire) and the outcome of fertility treatments. They 290
followed 75 women (mean age = 31.3) who had worked at least three months before 291
intake, had a female fertility problem and attended fertility clinics between 1999 and 292
2000. Information regarding the outcome of fertility treatments was based on a 293
follow-up 18 months after the initial intake through fertility clinics. Women with high 294
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job demands were less likely to conceive (relative risk [RR] = 0.60 [95% confidence 295
interval [CI]: 0.42 to 0.96]). There was no significant association of decision latitude, 296
shift work, or working hours with conception. Gaskins et al. (2015) 57 evaluated the 297
association of work schedule (i.e., work hours and total duration of night shift work) 298
and physical factors (i.e., standing job and lifting load) with fecundity (i.e., current 299
duration of participants’ ongoing pregnancy attempts) among female nurses, using the 300
data from an internet-based cohort study of female nurses in the USA and Canada (NHS 301
3). For assessment of fecundity, the authors took a participant’s first report of ongoing 302
pregnancy attempt after the baseline questionnaire as her outcome in three follow-up 303
survey questionnaires conducted every six months. As a result, 1,739 women (median 304
age = 33) were included in this analysis. Long working hours (over 40 hours per week) 305
and lifting or moving a heavy load (>15 times per day) were related to a longer median 306
duration of pregnancy attempts (increasing 20% [95% CI: 7% to 35%] and 49% [95% 307
CI: 20% to 85%], respectively). Additionally, a subgroup analysis found that the 308
association between heavy moving and lifting with reduced fecundity was even more 309
pronounced among overweight or obese women. Night shift work over the past year 310
was not significantly associated with fecundity. Willis et al. (2019) 55 prospectively 311
evaluated the association of shift work with fecundability. They followed North 312
American women (living in Canada or the United States) who are not using 313
contraception and aged 21–45 years attempting pregnancy for up to 12 months or until 314
conception, using web-based surveys. Time to pregnancy was estimated by reports of 315
their last menstrual period, usual menstrual cycle length, and the number of cycles they 316
had attempted pregnancy at study entry. As a result, 6,873 women who had shift/night 317
work ranging from 14.3% to 23.0% were included in the study. There was no 318
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association between shift work and fecundability. 319
320
Stock et al. (2019) 56 prospectively evaluated the association between nurses’ 321
rotating night shift work (i.e., the number of months with at least three nights per month 322
in the past two years) and menopausal age, using the data from an ongoing prospective 323
cohort study (NHS 2). This cohort included 116,429 female registered nurses in the 324
United States, aged between 25 to 42, at the baseline survey in 1989, followed from 325
1991 through 2013. Participants were asked whether their menstrual periods had ceased, 326
at what age, and if this was due to natural menopause, chemotherapy or radiation, or 327
surgery. Of those whose menstrual periods had not stopped before the last follow-up, 328
27,456 had natural menopause. The mean age of natural menopause in these women 329
was 50 (SD ±4.0) years old. Among them, 2,524 had menopause at under 45 years old. 330
Significant associations were found between the number of months of night shift work 331
in the past two years and earlier menopause (HRs = 1.06 to 1.11 among women with 332
<10 months, 10-19 months, and with ≥ 20 months, compared to none of night shift 333
work). Cumulative rotating night work of 10 or more years was also associated with a 334
higher risk of menopause among women reaching menopause under age 45. These 335
analyses did not consider any confounders such as psychological stress, job strain, or 336
chronotype-related tolerance. 337
338
Schernhammer et al. (2011)58 reported an association between rotating night shift 339
work and endometriosis risk within the NHS2. Participants were asked whether they 340
had ever had physician-diagnosed endometriosis. Analyses of incident diagnosis of 341
endometriosis were restricted to those women who reported laparoscopic confirmation 342
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of their diagnosis. This study included 2,062 laparoscopically confirmed cases 343
documented during 16 years of follow-up evaluation from 89,400 women without 344
diagnosed endometriosis at baseline. Overall, there was no association between rotating 345
night shift work and endometriosis. When the cases were categorized by infertility 346
status, the risk was elevated among women with concurrent infertility and ≥ 5 years of 347
rotating night shift work (RR = 1.71 [95% CI: 1.18 to 2.49]; P for trend =0.005), 348
compared with women with no rotating night shift work. 349
350
Michels et al. (2020) 54 examined the influences of night/shift work on the serum 351
reproductive hormones. The participants were recruited in the United States from the 352
BioCycle Study (2005–2007), a prospective cohort of 259 healthy women (mean age = 353
24) not using oral contraceptives. At baseline, participants were asked if they were 354
currently employed and if they worked nights or rotating shifts. Fasting blood samples 355
were collected at eight clinic visits across each menstrual cycle. Fertility monitors were 356
used to assist in the timing of mid-cycle clinic visits. Two cycles were followed. The 357
proportion of participants who had night/shift work was 34.4%. The results showed that 358
night/shift work did not influence estradiol or progesterone. Night/shift work showed 359
lower testosterone (-9.9%) than employees without night/shift work, but the clinical 360
implication of the finding was not mentioned. 361
362
Risk of bias assessment 363
The summary of the risk of bias assessment by ROBINS-I is shown in Table 3 . The 364
overall judgment was all “serious” due to confounding or selection of reported results. 365
The certainty of evidence was judged to be very low for all outcomes, downgraded for 366
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very serious risk of bias and publication bias (Appendix 2). 367
368
Discussion
369
Principal Findings 370
This review investigated the association between psychosocial factors at work 371
and menstrual abnormalities or fertility by limiting the study design to longitudinal, 372
assessing the outcome at baseline and follow-up. Of the six included studies, three 373
showed non-significant associations of shift work with fertility. 55,57,59 Instead, high job 374
demands, long working hours, and heavy lifting were significantly related. 57,59 Rotating 375
night shift work was not associated with the onset of endometriosis,58 but was with early 376
menopause.56 One study identified slight changes in the sex hormones by shift work. 54 377
All the studies had a serious risk of bias. There were still insufficient well-designed 378
studies available to conduct meta-analysis and draw conclusions. However, the present 379
study clarified the lack of evidence, achieved hypotheses to be examined in the future, 380
and suggested further research directions. 381
382
Comparison with Existing Literature 383
All three studies 55,57,59 that investigated the risk of shift/night work for 384
pregnancy outcomes showed non-significant associations. These studies were not 385
included in the recent meta-analysis published in 2014 19 that examined the influence of 386
shift work on reproductive outcomes, showing that shift work increased the risk of 387
infertility (crude odds ratio [OR]: 1.80 [95%CI: 1.01- 3.20]). This meta-analysis 388
included four cross-sectional fashioned studies (one study was a retrospective cohort) 389
from 1996 to 2003. 60-63 These studies retrieved a pregnant population and obtained the 390
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17
occupational data retrospectively. Three of them did not show significant 391
associations,60-62 and one did.63 Certainly, some studies seemed to find that women with 392
night/shift work tend to take a long time to become pregnant. 60-62 However, the 393
significance disappeared after adjusting the demographic and job characteristics 394
information. The adjusted results of the meta-analysis also showed non-significant 395
associations (adjusted OR: 1.12 [0.86 – 1.44]). 19 From both our findings and previous 396
reviews, we cannot conclude that shift/night work itself has an influence on fertility. 397
More studies should be conducted using rigorous longitudinal study designs that 398
account for possible confounding factors (psychosocial factors at work or lifestyle 399
factors) to examine the association between shift work and fertility outcomes. 400
401
Two studies examined psychosocial factors at work other than shift/night work. 402
These studies showed that high job demands, long working hours, and heavy lifting 403
were significantly associated with infertility. 57,59 These findings were consistent with 404
previous cross-sectional studies that were not included in the present review, which 405
suggested that long working hours and physically demanding jobs lead to less ovarian 406
function and infertility. 21,61 In contrast, another study reported a non-significant 407
association.60 Therefore, job demands, long time working, and lifting are possibly 408
related to fertility outcomes. Although the previous study suggested that psychological 409
stress reactions (i.e., depression, low positive affect) declined ovarian function, 64 410
whether these psychosocial factors at work affect fertility through such distress or not 411
(direct impact) still needs examination. Psychological stress theoretically disrupts 412
HPA-HPO axis interactions 8 and has been associated with higher levels of oxidative 413
stress, which potentially declines ovarian function. However, there is a lack of evidence 414
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18
to investigate the associations between psychosocial factors at work and fertility 415
outcomes in a robust design. Further prospective studies will be expected in this area. 416
417
One study in this review showed the increased risk of early menopause from 418
shift/night work.56 Rotating night shift work experience in the prior 2 years increased 419
the risk of earlier menopause. The subgroup analysis with women under 45 showed that 420
over 10 years of cumulative rotating night shift work exposure increased the risk of 421
early menopause. 56 This finding is consistent with the recent systematic review that 422
included cross-sectional studies investigating job stress and menopause; the authors 423
reported that age at menopause and severity of menopausal symptoms were both 424
influenced by job-related factors such as high job strain. The review identified the risk 425
factor for early menopause as smoking, type of work (e.g., service work), and shift work. 426
Early menopause has been regarded as a significant outcome because it increases the 427
risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. 65 Further investigations are 428
needed to prevent the deterioration of female workers’ health if any occupational factors 429
cumulatively affect early menopause. In this review, one study showed no significant 430
association of rotating night shift work with the onset of endometriosis diagnosed by 431
laparoscopy.58 Night shift work was found to decrease melatonin levels, 66 reduced the 432
aromatase activity and worked as a potential antiestrogenic agent. 67 Elevated estrogen 433
levels caused by the low melatonin levels from night shift work could promote 434
endometriosis growth. A population-based case-control study reported that any night 435
shift work was associated with a 48% increased risk of endometriosis. 68 The authors of 436
the included study discussed the possible bias that women with clinical pain symptoms 437
or with children might be likely to be out of the workforce in rotating work. 438
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19
Additionally, laparoscopic confirmation of endometriosis among those who never 439
experienced infertility is restricted to those with clinical symptoms, leading to 440
underestimating the risk in those who never experienced infertility. The associations of 441
shift work with endometriosis still need further investigation. 442
443
No study investigated the association of psychosocial factors at work with 444
menstrual abnormality using longitudinal data. This review was limited to studies that 445
evaluated the outcome (menstrual abnormality) in both baseline and follow-up. 446
Furthermore, studies were excluded that analyzed the menstrual cycle as one unit of 447
outcome. No study that met these criteria was found in this review. Some studies 448
analyzed the cycle data as one unit.14,16,22,34 That method did not allow for a before/after 449
comparison of data from one person and was considered a cross-sectional study. 450
Menstrual abnormality can be caused not only by occupational stress but also by 451
multiple other factors (e.g., body mass index [BMI], non-occupational stress). A 452
longitudinal study evaluating the change in menstrual abnormalities will be needed to 453
estimate the risk of psychosocial factors at work. 454
455
Strengths and Limitations 456
This systematic review was the first review to investigate the evidence of the 457
associations between psychosocial factors at work and menstrual abnormalities or 458
fertility, which limited the longitudinal well-designed studies. However, this systematic 459
review has several limitations. First, we did not conduct a meta-analysis due to an 460
insufficient number of studies. The concrete evidence thus was not provided for the 461
clinical questions. Second, this review is limited by English and Japanese language 462
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is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. (which was not certified by peer review)
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20
restriction; therefore, studies in other languages may have been missed. Third, 463
publication bias may occur, but this review did not assess that bias. 464
465
Conclusions
and Implications 466
This systematic review investigated the association of psychosocial factors at work with 467
menstrual abnormalities and fertility outcomes, and six articles were included. This 468
review presented insufficient high-level evidence of well-designed studies on this topic. 469
Because psychosocial factors at work are modifiable risk factors for women’s 470
reproductive outcomes, further investments are needed to determine the implications for 471
occupational health practice. 472
473
Acknowledgements
474
We extend great thanks to cooperated researcher Yumi ASAI for her su pport of our procedures of 475
screening the literature. 476
477
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21
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met a-anal ys i s. JAM A c ardiol o gy . 2016;1( 7):767 -7 7 6. 660
66. Bur ch J B, Y ost MG, Joh n so n W , Al l en E . M e lat on i n, s lee p, a n d s h if t w o rk a dap ta t ion . 661
Jou rnal o f o ccupat i on al and en vironment al med ic i ne. 20 0 5; 47(9): 8 93 -901. 662
67. Cos S, M a rtí n ez ‐ C ampa C, Me d iav i ll a M D , Sán c he z‐Bar c el ó EJ. Me l at on i n mo d u l ate s 663
aro matase act iv i ty in MCF‐7 h um a n breast c an c er c ell s . Jo u rnal of pin e al r e se a rch . 664
200 5;38(2 ): 1 36-142 . 665
68. Mar ino JL, Holt VL, C h en C , Da v is S. Shif t w or k , hCLOCK T 3 11 1C po lym o rp hi s m , an d 666
end ometri os i s risk . E pidemi o lo gy (Cambr idge, Ma s s). 20 0 8; 19(3): 4 77 . 667
668
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Table 1 Eligibility criteria in the present systematic review
Inclusion criteria Exclusion criteria
Design /circle6 Longitudinal or prospective cohort
design
/circle6 Outcome was not assessed at least at
two time point.
/circle6 Menstrual cycle was cross-sectionally
analyzed as an independent unit.
Participants /circle6 Adult female workers (over 18 years
old)
/circle6 Pregnant workers
/circle6 Clinical students
Exposures /circle6 Presence of adverse psychosocial
factors at work
N/A
Comparisons /circle6 Absence of adverse psychosocial
factors at work
N/A
Outcomes /circle6 Menstrual disorders and related
symptoms: 1) diverse menstrual
dysfunctions (e.g., cycle disorder,
hypermenorrhea), 2) gynecological
disease/syndrome (e.g., endometriosis,
polycystic ovarian syndrome), 3)
menstrual-related symptoms (e.g.,
PMS, menopausal symptoms)
/circle6 Reproductive outcomes (e.g.,
infertility, time to be pregnant)
/circle6 Biological outcomes (e.g., serum sex
hormone)
/circle6 Pregnancy-related outcomes (e.g.,
premature birth)
/circle6 Malignant outcomes (e.g., cancer)
Article type /circle6 Original article published by
peer-reviewed journal (including
advanced online publication)
/circle6 Conference abstract
/circle6 Letter/correspondence
Language /circle6 Written in English or Japanese N/A
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Table 2. The descriptions of the included studies (N=6).
1st author,
year,
(country)
Design
(cohort
name,
duration)
Baseline
N (N for
analysis)
Participants Exposure Comparison Outcome F/U (%) Main results
Michels
KA., 2020
(U.S.)
Prospective
cohort (The
BioCycle
Study,
2005–2007)
259 (259)
Healthy, regularly
menstruating women
aged 18–44 years, who
did not used oral
contraceptives, other
medications or
vitamins; had not been
pregnant in the last six
months; did not have
any diagnoses of
chronic conditions; did
not have gynecologic
surgeries.
With night/shift
work.
Without
night/shift work.
Reproductive
hormone
Eight times
across one to
two menstrual
cycle (100%)
Women reporting
night/shift work (n = 77)
had lower testosterone
(percent difference = -9.9%
[95% CI: -18.4 to -0.4]).
No significant relationship
in estradiol, ovulatory LH,
FSH, ovulatory FSH, luteal
progesterone, and the risk
of sporadic anovulation.
Willis
SK., 2019
(Canada
and U.S.)
Prospective
cohort
(PRESTO)
8,772
(6,873)
Women aged 21 to 45
years, attempting
pregnancy, who are not
using contraception or
fertility treatment.
Working rotating
shifts (hours that
shift in a
predictable way
from day-to-day,
week-to-week, or
month-to-month)
in the past
month.
No night/shift
work
Fecundability
(per-cycle
probability of
conception)
Every 8
weeks or until
reported
conception,
initiation of
fertility
treatment,
cessation of
pregnancy
attempts.
(86.2%
a)
No association between
shift work and
fecundability.
Stock D.,
2019
(U.S.)
Prospective
cohort
(NHS2
1989-2011)
116,429
(80,840)
Female registered
nurses between ages 25
and 42, who did not
experience natural or
medically induced
menopause; did not
use
menopausal hormone
therapy (HT), or did not
Rotating night
shift (recent
number of
months worked
rotating night
shifts, which
defined as
working
Never worked on
rotating
nightshifts
Age at natural
menopause over
22 years of
follow-up/ earlier
menopause
younger than 45
years
Every 2 years
follow-up
questionnaire
s were sent to
cohort
members.
Response
rates to the
Women who had worked
10–19 months of rotating
night shifts had the largest
point estimate (HR = 1.11
[95% CI: 1.01 to 1.21]) and
women who had worked
≥ 20 months had similar
Result
(HR = 1.09 [95% CI:
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have cancer diagnosis
(excluding
non-melanoma skin
cancer).
sometime
between
midnight and 2
AM).
NHS 2
questionnaire
s have been at
90%
throughout
the follow-up
period.
1.02 to 1.16]).
Cumulative rotating night
work of 10 or more years
was also associated with a
higher risk of menopause
among women reaching
menopause under age 45
(HR10–19 years = 1.22
[95% CI: 1.03 to 1.44];
HR
≥ 20 years = 1.73 [95%
CI: 0.90 to 3.35]).
Gaskins
AJ., 2015
(U.S. and
Canada)
Prospective
cohort
(NHS3
2014-2017)
38,016
(1,739)
Female registered
nurses trying to get
pregnant.
Typical work
schedule over
past year
(evenings only/
nights only/
rotating with
nights/ rotating
no nights);
weekly hours of
nursing work
over past year
(1-20h/ >40h);
frequency of
night work in
past month (
≤ 1/
2-3/ >3);
duration of
rotating night
shifts (3y); duration of
permanent night
shifts (3y); duration of
night shifts (4y); duration of
Typical work
schedule over
past year (days
only); weekly
hours of nursing
work over past
year (21-40h);
frequency of
night work in
past month
(none); duration
of rotating night
shifts (never);
duration of
permanent night
shifts (never);
duration of night
shifts (never);
duration of
standing/walking
(5-8h); frequency
of moving or
lifting a heavy
load (none).
The current
duration of their
ongoing
pregnancy
attempt.
Every 6
months (no
data
available)
Working over 40 hours per
week was related to
increasing 20% (95% CI
7% to 35%) the median
duration of pregnancy
attempt compared to
working 21-40 h/week (p
=0.006).
After adjustment for
demographic and
work-related confounders,
women lifting or moving a
heavy load >15 times per
day had a 49% (95% CI
20% to 85%) longer
median duration of
pregnancy attempt (p
=0.002).
Typical work schedules
over the past year,
frequency of night work in
the past month and
duration of rotating or
non-rotating night shifts
were not also significantly
associated with fecundity.
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standing/walking
(0 or less than
1h/ 1-4h/ >8h);
frequency of
moving or lifting
a heavy load
(1-5/ 6-15/ >15
times).
Schernha
mmer ES.,
2011 (US)
Prospective
cohort
(NHS 2,
1989-2005)
89,400
(2,062)
Female registered
nurses of ages 25-42
years, without the
diagnosis of
endometriosis or a
history of infertility at
baseline.
Duration of work
on rotating
nightshift
(1-4.9yr /
≧
5yr).
Never worked on
rotating
nightshifts.
Diagnosis of
endometriosis by
laparoscopic
confirmation.
Every 2
years,
follow-up
questionnaire
s were sent to
cohort
members.
Response
rates to the
NHS II
questionnaire
s have been at
90%
throughout
the follow-up
period.
Overall, there was no
association between
rotating nightshift work
and risk of endometriosis.
When the cases were
categorized by infertility
status, risk was elevated
among women with
concurrent infertility and
≥ 5 years of rotating
nightshift work (RR = 1.71
[95% CI: 1.18 to 2.49]; P
for trend =0.005),
compared with women
with no rotating nightshift
work.
Barzilai-P
esach V .,
2006
(Israel)
Prospective
cohort
(1999-2000
).
160 (75) Female working
patients with a fertility
problem, who attended
the Fertility and
In-Vitro Fertilization
clinics at the Soroka
University Medical
Center.
Job demands
(high), type of
job (full-time
job), decision
latitude
(minimal), shift
work (yes).
Job demands
(low), Type of
job (part-time),
decision latitude
(high), shift work
(no).
Conception in
which the data
was obtained
from the clinical
records.
18 months
(100%)
Women with high job
demand were less likely to
conceive (RR = 0.60 [95%
CI: 0.42 to 0.96]). No
significant association of
decision latitude, nor shift
work with conception.
a. The authors calculated from the data described in the paper (5926/6873*100).
NHS: The Nurses’ Health Study. PRESTO: Pregnancy Study Online
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Table 3. Summary of risk of bias assessment for the included studies analyzed by ROBINS-I (N=6).
Michels et al
(2020) #3722
Willis et al.
(2019) #4093
Stock et al.
(2019)
#4307
Gaskins et al.
(2015)#7240
Schernhammer
et al.
(2011)#9737
Barzilai-Pesach
et al.
(2006)#11436
1. Confounding S S M S S S
2. Selection of Participants L L L L S S
3. Classification of intervention M M M M S S
4. Deviations from intended interventions L L L L L L
5. Missing data S M S L S S
6. Measurement of outcomes L S S S L L
7. Selection of reported result S M S S S S
Overall judgment S S S S S S
Note: L: low risk of bias, M: moderate risk of bias, S: serious risk of bias, C: critical risk of bias, N: no information
ROBINS-I: The risk of bias in observational studies of exposures
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IdentificationScreeningIncluded
Figure 1 PRISMA 2020 Flow Diagram of systematic review search results.
Records identified from
database: (n=12,868)
• PubMed: n=2,823
• EMBASE: n=9,340
• PsycINFO/Articles: n=608
• Japan Medical Abstracts
Society: n=97
Records removed
before screening:
Duplicate records
removed (n=1,435)
Reports sought for retrieval
(n=38)
Records excluded:
(n=11,395)
Reports excluded:
(n=32)
• Design: n=13
• Participants: n=4
• Exposures: n=10
• Outcomes: n=2
• Article type: n=1
• Duplicate: n=2
Studies included in review
(n=6)
Reports of included studies
(n=6)
Identification of studies via databases
Records screened (n=11,433)
Reports not retrieved
(n=0)
Reports assessed for eligibility
(n=38)
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Appendix 1
Search terms for PubMed
(employe*[tw] OR manag*[tw] OR colleague*[tw] OR worksit*[tw] OR “work”[tw] OR
works*[tw] OR work’*[tw] OR worka*[tw] OR worke*[tw] OR workg*[tw] OR worki*[tw] OR
workl*[tw] OR workp*[tw] OR occupant*[tw] OR company*[tw] OR offic*[tw] OR busines*[tw]
OR workplace[mh]) AND (("Stress, Mechanical"[Mesh] OR "Lifting"[Mesh] OR "Moving and
Lifting Patients"[Mesh] OR "Weight-Bearing"[Mesh] OR "Biomechanics" OR “Physical
Exertion"[Mesh] OR "Torsion, Mechanical"[Mesh] OR "Postural Balance"[Mesh] OR
"Walking"[Mesh] OR "Recovery of Function"[Mesh] OR "Relaxation"[Mesh] OR
(static[Title/Abstract] AND posture) OR (awkward[Title/Abstract] AND posture) OR
(dynamic[Title/Abstract] AND posture) OR static work[Title/Abstract] OR dynamic
load*[Title/Abstract] OR lift*[Title/Abstract] OR carry*[Title/Abstract] OR hold*[Title/Abstract]
OR pull*[Title/Abstract] OR drag*[Title/Abstract] OR push*[Title/Abstract] OR manual
handling[Title/Abstract] OR force*[Title/Abstract] OR biomechanic*[Title/Abstract] OR
walking*[Title/Abstract] OR postural balance[Title/Abstract] OR flexion*[Title/Abstract] OR
extension*[Title/Abstract] OR turning[Title/Abstract] OR sitting[Title/Abstract] OR
kneeling[Title/Abstract] OR squatting[Title/Abstract] OR twisting[Title/Abstract] OR
bending[Title/Abstract] OR reaching[Title/Abstract] OR standing[Title/Abstract] OR
sedentary[Title/Abstract] OR repetitive movement*[Title/Abstract] OR monot onous
work[Title/Abstract] OR relaxation[Title/Abstract] OR recovery of function[Title/Abstract] OR
physical demand*[Title/Abstract] OR physically demand*[Title/Abstract]) OR ("Stress,
Psychological"[Majr] OR "Social Support"[Majr] OR "Job Satisfaction"[Mesh] OR "Work Schedule
Tolerance"[Mesh] OR "Employee Performance Appraisal"[Mesh] OR "Employee
Grievances"[Mesh] OR "Social Justice/psychology"[Mesh] OR "Personnel Downsizing"[Mesh] OR
"Staff Development"[Mesh] OR "Organizational Culture"[Mesh] OR "Bullying"[Mesh] OR
"Prejudice"[Mesh] OR "Social Discrimination"[Mesh] OR "Interpersonal Relations"[Mesh] OR
"Communication/psychology"[Mesh]) OR (psychosocial[Title/Abstract] OR job
strain[Title/Abstract] OR work strain[Title/Abstract] OR work demand*[Title/Abstract] OR job
demand*[Title/Abstract] OR high demand*[Title/Abstract] OR low control[Title/Abstract] OR lack
of control[Title/Abstract] OR work control[Title/Abstract] OR job control[Title/Abstract] OR
decision latitude[Title/Abstract] OR work influence*[Title/Abstract] OR demand
resource*[Title/Abstract] OR effort reward*[Title/Abstract] OR time pressure*[Title/Abstract] OR
recuperation*[Title/Abstract] OR work overload*[Title/Abstract] OR work
over-load*[Title/Abstract] OR recovery[Title/Abstract] OR coping[Title/Abstract] OR work
ability[Title/Abstract] OR social support[Title/Abstract] OR support system*[Title/Abstract] OR
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social network*[Title/Abstract] OR emotional su pport[Title/Abstract] OR interpersonal
relation*[Title/Abstract] OR interaction*[Title/Abstract] OR social capital [Title/Abstract] OR
justice*[Title/Abstract] OR injustice*[Title/Abstract] OR job satisfaction[Title/Abstract] OR work
satisfaction[Title/Abstract] OR boredom[Title/Abstract] OR skill discretion*[Title/Abstract] OR
staff development[Title/Abstract] OR discrimination[Title/Abstract] OR harass*[Title/Abstract] OR
work-place conflict*[Title/Abstract] OR workplace violen*[Title/Abstract] OR work-place
violen*[Title/Abstract] OR bullying[Title/Abstract] OR ageism[Title/Abstract] OR
homophobia[Title/Abstract] OR racism[Title/Abstract] OR sexism[Title/Abstract] OR
victimization*[Title/Abstract] OR silent workplace*[Title/Abstract] OR role
ambiguity[Title/Abstract] OR role-conflict*[Title/Abstract] OR work-role*[Title/Abstract] OR
working hour*[Title/Abstract] OR working time[Title/Abstract] OR day-time[Title/Abstract] OR
night-time[Title/Abstract] OR shift work*[Title/Abstract] OR work shift*[Title/Abstract] OR
temporary work[Title/Abstract] OR full-time[Title/Abstract] OR part-time[Title/Abstract] OR
flexible work*[Title/Abstract] OR organizational change[Title/Abstract] OR organisational
change[Title/Abstract] OR lean production[Title/Abstract] OR job security[Title/Abstract] OR job
insecurity[Title/Abstract])) AND (menstruation OR menstrual OR “menstrual pain” OR “period pain”
OR “period pains” OR menorrhagia OR hypermenorrhea OR dysmenorrhea[MeSH] OR
premenstrual OR “PMS” OR “premenstrual syndrome” OR “PMDD” OR “premenstrual dysphoric
disorder” OR amenorrhea OR menoxenia OR metrorrhagia OR endometrio* OR myoma* OR
leiomyoma OR fibroids OR adenomyosis OR ovarian cyst* OR endometrioma OR polycystic ovar*
OR menopaus* OR hot flush* OR climacteric OR estrogen* OR estradiol OR progesterone* OR
prolactin OR lutenizing OR LH OR “lutenizing hormone” OR follicul* OR FSH OR “follicle
stimulating hormone” OR gonadotropin OR GnRH OR “gonadotropin releasing hormone” OR
“basal body temperature” OR infertility OR fertility OR fecund* OR subfecundity OR reproductiv*)
AND (longitudinal OR prospective OR cohort OR (follow AND up) OR observational OR (case
AND (control or cohort)) OR case-control OR case-cohort)
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Appendix 2: GRADE overview.
Quality Assessment
Studies Risk of Bias Inconsistency Indirectness Imprecision Publication
bias
Overall Quality
of Evidence
Fecundability
3 studiesa Very serious Not serious Not serious Serious e Very serious g Very low
quality
Diagnosis of endometriosis
1 studyb Very serious NA f NA f NA f Very seriousg Very low
quality
Age at natural menopause
1 studyc Very serious NA f NAf NA f Very seriousg Very low
quality
Reproductive hormone
1 studyd Very serious NA f NA f NA f Very seriousg Very low
quality
a Willis SK., 2019; Gaskins AJ., 2015; Barzilai-Pesach V., 2006.
b Schernhammer ES., 2011.
c Stock D., 2019.
d Michels KA., 2020.
e one study has small sample size
f not applicable since no pooled estimate was calculated heterogeneity
g no protocol available
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