Table 1

Demographic and health-related characteristics of shift workers (n=1300)

VariablesN%
Country of residence
 Ireland85065.4
 Northern Ireland45034.6
Gender
 Male67251.7
 Female62848.3
Age category*
 18–34 years49038.2
 35–54 years60647.2
 55–65 years18714.6
Marital status
 Single never married52840.6
 Married and living with spouse63749.0
 Civil partnership272.1
 Married and separated from spouse473.6
 Divorced453.5
 Widowed161.2
Socioeconomic status†‡
 ABC159948.2
 C2DE64451.8
Calculated BMI§¶
 Underweight302.7
 Normal weight50445.4
 Overweight39735.8
 Obese17916.1

  • *Valid denominator=1283

  • †Based on the occupation of the head of household. ABC1 denotes upper middle class, middle class and lower middle class. C2DE denotes skilled working class, working class and non-workers15

  • ‡Some participants declined to respond (n=57)

  • §Calculated based on self-reported height and weight and categorised according to the WHO BMI classification14

  • ¶Valid denominator=1110

  • BMI, body mass index.