Shift Work, Circadian Disruption, and Gastrointestinal Disease: Narrative Review of Molecular Mechanisms
Night and rotating shift work consistently associates with circadian disruption, but mechanistic links to gastrointestinal disease remain insufficiently validated in humans.
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Context
Shift workers constitute a substantial share of the global workforce and report higher rates of gastrointestinal symptoms. Clarifying the underlying biological pathways has direct relevance for occupational health and preventive strategies.
What the study showed
Human studies consistently support an association between night or rotating shift work and circadian disruption. The authors explicitly distinguish epidemiological associations from experimental mechanistic evidence and from biologically plausible but insufficiently validated relationships. Downstream connections to gastrointestinal outcomes — through neuroendocrine, immune, intestinal barrier, and microbial pathways — are presented as plausible, not established.
How it was done
Structured narrative review using PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science, prioritizing publications from January 2020 to July 2026, including original studies, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and mechanistic and translational investigations.
Risk of bias
Narrative reviews are inherently susceptible to selection bias and do not provide quantitative effect estimates. This analysis is based solely on the abstract, without access to the full text.
What this study does NOT prove
This review does not establish causality between shift work and specific gastrointestinal diseases, nor does it validate any therapeutic or preventive intervention.
In clinical practice
Clinicians should include shift work history in the assessment of patients with chronic gastrointestinal complaints. The evidence level does not support specific therapeutic or preventive interventions derived from this review.
Limitations
Narrative reviews are inherently susceptible to selection bias and do not provide quantitative effect estimates. This analysis is based solely on the abstract, without access to the full text.
Technical appendix
Version history
- 1.0 · 2026-11-08 — Auto-generated under Evidence Standard v1.0