Circadian Disruption and Occupational Toxicants Exposure Affecting the Immunity of Shift Workers During Sars Cov-2 Pandemic

In several regions of the world, the recent Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19)
pandemic outbreak increased morbidity and mortality. The pandemic situation
disrupted many workers’ previously established lifestyles. The main aim of the
present review was to describe the circadian disruption and occupational toxicant
exposure affecting the immunity of shift workers during the SARS CoV-2 pandemic.
We retrieved pertinent published literature from the Google Scholar, PubMed, and
Scopus databases. In the present review, we discuss the circadian rhythm involving
the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis at the molecular level, its disruption,
occupational toxicant exposure causing immunomodulatory effects, and the role of
immunity during the SARS CoV-2 pandemic. The severity of the progression of the viral
infection depends on multiple factors affecting immunity. Hence, shift workers may need
to be aware of those factors such as circadian rhythm disruption as well as occupational
toxicant exposure. The timing of shift workers’ energy intake is also important concerning
the shift of the workers. The information in the present review may be important for all
workers who are at risk during the pandemic. In the absence of any published literature
related to association of circadian rhythm disruption with occupational toxicant exposure,
the present review may have greater importance