Chicago – Medical residents and fellows, including first-year residents, will be allowed to work for up to 28 consecutive hours without sleep as part of revised requirements recently approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

Boston – Women who work the night shift as young adults may have an increased risk of breast cancer, according to a study of nurses conducted by the Channing Division of Network Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Hong Kong – Night shift workers are at an increased risk of becoming obese or overweight, according to new research by Chinese and Dutch scientists.

L’Aquila, Italy — A recently released study has linked sleep disorders and burnout to certain aspects of shift work among nurses.

Spokane, WA — Individual organs in the digestive system contain separate biological clocks that may influence the metabolism of people who work the night shift and help explain a link to shift worker health problems such as obesity and diabetes, a recent study from researchers at Washington State University suggests.

Uppsala, Sweden — Losing sleep, even for one night, can negatively impact metabolism and help trigger excess weight gain – possibly explaining a link between sleep deprivation and shift worker health problems – according to the results of a recent study conducted by researchers at Uppsala University.

Shift work is a way of life for nearly 15 million Americans, spurring numerous studies that link the practice to health problems and chronic conditions. “It’s really important to recognize these risks, and we need to understand them and we need to treat them,” a leading researcher says.

Vallejo, CA — Citing multiple studies that suggest shift workers are at increased risk of developing sleep disorders and metabolic syndrome – raising their chances for heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes – a recent analysis led by a researcher from the Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine concludes with actions both employers and workers can take to help improve shift worker health.

Corvallis, OR — For construction workers, “the chance of getting injured or getting more severe injuries are related to the hours of your work,” a researcher from Oregon State University says.

Spokane, WA — Night shift schedules “throw off the timing of expression of cancer-related genes in a way that reduces the effectiveness of the body’s DNA repair processes when they are most needed,” results of a recent study led by researchers from Washington State University show.

Darien, IL — In an effort to balance “the need to meet operational demands with the need to manage fatigue-related risks” related to shift work, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society have issued guidance on designing optimal work shift durations.

Shanghai — Night shift workers may be at increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation – an abnormal heart rhythm that can trigger serious health issues – as well as coronary heart disease, according to a recent study led by researchers at Jiao Tong University and Tulane University.

Toronto — Researchers at York University say they’ve found a link between women who perform shift work and delayed onset of natural menopause.

College Station, TX — Adverse health effects of shift work – including increased risk of stroke – may persist even after workers resume traditional, 24-hour circadian cycles, according to a recent study by researchers from Texas A&M University.

San Diego — Eating within set times while not skipping meals can reduce the cardiovascular health risks of firefighters and other shift workers, results of a recent study show.

Lansing, MI — Service sector workers with irregular schedules often experience greater levels of stress and exhaustion, according to a recent report.

Melbourne, Australia — Rotating shift workers are more likely than other workers to eat unhealthy foods, a new study has found.

Toronto — Middle-aged and older shift workers are more likely to be considered frail – particularly women who work rotating shifts, a recent study out of Canada suggests.

Chicago — If you’re unable to get more than six hours of sleep a night in the week before and after getting a vaccine, researchers say its effectiveness may be reduced – something shift workers should keep in mind.

Istanbul — A recent study involving female mice shows that only four weeks of shift work-like light patterns were enough to disrupt their biological clock and reduce fertility.

Toronto — Middle-aged and older adults who have worked the night shift or rotating shifts are significantly more likely to experience cognitive impairment, results of a recent study suggest.

Wuhan, China — Shift work is linked to two kinds of mental health issues – and lifestyle factors can play a role, results of a recent study out of China suggest.

Melbourne, Australia — Shift work and long hours can significantly raise the risk of preterm birth for pregnant workers, according to the results of a recent study.

Richland, WA — Spending just three days working a night shift “can knock the body’s biological rhythms off course, disrupting important processes related to blood glucose regulation, energy metabolism and inflammation,” researchers from Washington State University and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory say.

Winston-Salem, NC – Housing for migrant farmworkers may not provide adequate relief from hot temperatures, reducing workers’ ability to rest and recover from work exposure to heat, according to a new study from the Wake Forest School of Medicine.

Los Angeles – Pesticide exposure may increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, and individual risk varies based on a person’s genetic makeup, according to a new study from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Washington – The Environmental Protection Agency on Feb. 20 proposed new safety measures intended to protect farmworkers from the harmful effects of pesticide exposure.

Sacramento, CA – Federal agency statistics vastly undercount the number of nonfatal injuries and illnesses in the agricultural industry, according to a new study from the University of California Davis School of Medicine.

Washington – After a recent visit with workers in tobacco fields and labor camps in North Carolina, members of an international delegation said they were shocked and saddened to see widespread worker abuse.

Washington – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s controversial final rule on its New Poultry Inspection System is set to be published and, in response to public comment, will not increase the maximum speed of processing lines.

Santa Fe, NM – The New Mexico Occupational Health & Safety Bureau has teamed up with the Consulate of Mexico to provide the state’s Spanish-speaking employees with workplace safety training.

Washington – A new voluntary program from the Environmental Protection Agency aims to protect agricultural workers from pesticide drift.

The Center for Construction Research and Training (also known as CPWR) is now offering several of its resources in Spanish.

Washington – OSHA and NIOSH have published recommended practices to help tobacco workers and employers avoid a potentially deadly combination of illnesses.

Washington – Lawmakers in both chambers of Congress are proposing legislation that would prohibit children younger than 18 from working directly with tobacco plants or dried tobacco leaves.

San Diego – Immigration reform can directly improve the safety and health of Latino workers, the only demographic group to experience an increase in fatalities in 2013, according to the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health.

Hispanic and Latino workers were the only demographic to see its fatality figures increase from 2012 to 2013. Experts explore why Latinos are at a higher risk of workplace injuries and death, and provide potential solutions to reverse the growing trend.

Washington – A recent blog post by NIOSH sheds light on the thought process that goes into choosing the most effective art for safety materials.

Cincinnati – Rates of occupational injury and illness from pesticides are much higher among agricultural workers than workers in other industries, according to NIOSH research.

Washington – Immigrant workers who report unsafe or unfair work practices would become eligible for a type of visa reserved for victims of criminal activity, under legislation recently reintroduced by House Democrats.

Washington – The Chemical Safety Board is including Spanish language translations of some of its safety materials, the independent agency announced Nov. 20.

Washington – The Environmental Protection Agency once again has extended the comment period for a proposed rule that would create stronger standards for workers who handle “restricted use” pesticides.

Washington – A new resource from the Environmental Protection Agency aims to help regulators and the public learn more about pesticide exposure incidents among agricultural workers.

Washington – The Environmental Protection Agency and the Pesticide Educational Resources Collaborative have released a guide intended to help agricultural pesticide handlers, workers and managers comply with 2015 revisions to the federal Worker Protection Standard.

Washington – United Farm Workers and several community health groups have petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to immediately suspend widespread use of chlorpyrifos, a neurotoxic pesticide already acknowledged to pose poisoning risks to workers.

Los Angeles – Latino immigrants and African-American men are most at risk for being injured on the job, according to a study from the University of Southern California.

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency has released a draft of its human health and ecological risk assessments for glyphosate, a commonly used herbicide, and stated that it intends to seek public comment on the draft.

Olympia, WA — Pesticide spray tanks are considered confined spaces if they’re big enough to enter (through a manhole cover or access port) and occupy, and require a permit for full or partial entry, emphasizes a new hazard alert from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries’ Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

Washington — Immigrant construction workers employed by small companies do not receive the same amount of safety and health training as their counterparts at larger companies, according to a recent study from NIOSH and the American Society of Safety Engineers.

Albany, NY — Attorneys general from New York, California and Maryland have filed a lawsuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to indefinitely delay a requirement for employers to provide enhanced training intended to protect farmworkers, pesticide handlers and their families from exposure to pesticides.