Purpose:
The purpose of the present study was to assess whether salivary human herpesvirus (hhv)-6 acted as a new sensitive stress marker, providing a reliable indicator of stress among shift work nurses. salivary hhv-6, immunoglobulin (ig) a and mood states were compared among nurses who worked day shifts only and nurses who worked different numbers of night shifts.
Methods:
Participants included 56 female nurses working in japanese general hospitals. the 56 subjects were categorized into three groups: group a (n = 7), which consisted of nurses who only worked day shifts; group b (n = 29), which consisted of nurses working shifts with Β£8 night shifts per month; and group c (n = 20), which consisted of nurses working shifts with (3) 9 night shifts per month. mood was assessed using the profile of mood states short form japanese version (poms-sfj). salivary biomarker levels and mood were compared among the three groups.
Results:
Although the salivary hhv-6 level was significantly higher in group c than in group a (p < .05), salivary iga and mood levels were not significantly different among the three groups.
Conclusion:
Salivary hhv-6 level may be a more sensitive stress marker than salivary iga or mood for assessing chronic fatigue in nurses working shifts. improvement to shift assignments using assessment by salivary hhv-6 is required.