%0 Journal Article
%T Association between long working hours and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: a nationwide population-based study in Korea.
%A Baek SU
%A Won JU
%A Lee YM
%A Yoon JH
%J Public Health
%V 232
%N 0
%D 2024 Jul 25
%M 38796916
%F 4.984
%R 10.1016/j.puhe.2024.04.034
%X <B>OBJECTIVE: </B>Long working hour is a known risk factor for metabolic diseases. We explored the association between working hours and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).<BR><B>METHODS: </B>Data on working hours among 22,818 workers (11,999 females) from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013-2021) were used for this study.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>MASLD was defined as a combination of hepatic steatosis combined with one or more of cardiometabolic risk factors (overweight/obesity, prediabetes/diabetes, raised blood pressure, hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol). Hepatic steatosis was assessed using the hepatic steatosis index. Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>The overall prevalence of MASLD was 30.4% in men and 18.1% in women. Among male workers, 20.2% worked ≥55 h/week, whereas among female workers, 10.1% worked ≥55 h/week. Compared with working 35-40 h/week, working ≥55 h/week was positively associated with overweight/obesity (OR: 1.21; 95% CI: 1.05-1.40), pre-diabetes mellitus (pre-DM)/DM (OR: 1.20; 95% CI: 1.04-1.38), raised blood pressure (OR: 1.17; 95% CI: 1.02-1.35), and presence of any cardiometabolic risk factors (OR: 1.56; 95% CI: 1.21-2.02). The adjusted OR (95% CI) of the association between working hours and MASLD was 1.27 (1.09-1.47) for ≥55 h/week compared with working 35-40 h/week in male workers. In female workers, long working hours were not clearly associated with cardiometabolic risk factors and MASLD.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>Long working hours are positively associated with MASLD among Korean male workers. Policy interventions are needed to mitigate the adverse metabolic effects of prolonged working hours.