Atypical Work Hours and Adaptation in Law Enforcement: Targets for Disease Prevention, Buffalo, New York, 2019-2024

This study evaluated the impact of atypical work hours on physiological indicators of health and chronic disease among law enforcement officers enrolled in the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) study. Atypical work hours were defined as: work outside of a standard daytime work shift, the number of shift changes that occur over an extended period, the effect of cumulative overtime hours, and/or secondary employment. The data in this release include measures of global DNA methylation, which is an indicator of genomic instability and risk factor for several types of cancer; food logs documenting wake, sleep, and meal times during workdays and off-duty days; and survey data about psychosocial adaptive and maladaptive behaviors associated with atypical work hours.