DIET QUALITY AND MEALTIME OF NIGHT WORKERS IN CLIMATERIAL: AN INTERVENTION STUDY WITH EXOGENOUS MELATONIN

• Grant number: 23/01780-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Effective date (Start): October 01, 2023
• Effective date (End): January 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health - Public Health
• Principal Investigator: Claudia Roberta de Castro Moreno
• Grantee: Cristina Souza da Silva Luz
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Saúde Pública (FSP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 19/24327-5 - Melatonin physiology and pathophysiology, basic and clinical studies: characterization of the primary and secundary Hypomelatoninemia Syndromes, AP.TEM

Abstract

During the climacteric, many women report sleep problems, which can influence food preferences and lead to poor eating habits. Factors associated with night work, such as greater sleep restriction and circadian misalignment, also make it difficult to choose a healthy diet. In addition, exposure to light during night work leads to a decrease in melatonin, which may alter the duration and quality of sleep. It is hypothesized that exogenous melatonin may improve sleep quality and food preferences in women during the menopausal period. In this context, this study aims to administer melatonin to health professionals exposed to night work in order to verify if there is a change in the quality of the diet, mealtime and quality of sleep of these workers. This project is part of the thematic Project "Melatonin, physiology and pathophysiology, basic and clinical studies: characterization of the hypomelatoninemic syndrome and the role of therapeutic replacement with melatonin", coordinated by Prof. José Cipolla-Neto (Fapesp process 2019/24327-5). In this subproject, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial will be carried out in a large hospital located in the city of São Paulo-SP, where 48 workers will be evaluated, 16 of the night shift, 16 of the morning shift and 16 of the afternoon shift, who are in the climacteric phase. Before and after the intervention, the workers will fill in diaries to assess food consumption, mealtime and sleep quality, in addition to sociodemographic aspects. Intervention group workers are expected to have better circadian alignment and a change in mealtime after the intervention, as well as better food choice and improved sleep quality. The improvement in food choices is expected to be greater in the night intervention group compared to the other two intervention groups (morning and afternoon).