Keywords: Type 2 diabetes, Metabolic health, Blood sugar, Shift work
 

"A 24-hour perspective on insulin resistance: focus on skeletal muscle metabolism and circadian clock entrainment"

The continuously growing numbers of obesity within the general population and people further developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have turned into a major global public health concern. Next to low physical activity levels and high caloric intake, it has recently been recognized that lifestyle factors that characterize our 24-hour culture, like working and eating late, reduced sleep, lack of exposure to daylight, and excessive exposure to artificial light at night, may negatively impact metabolic health. In support, epidemiological studies revealed that night-shift work is associated with adverse metabolic consequences and increased risk of developing T2DM. Simulating night-shift work under laboratory conditions affects blood sugar control and induces insulin resistance. This novel perspective on the etiology of insulin resistance and T2DM laid the foundation for this thesis. The primary aim was to study human metabolism not only during daytime but to also take a deeper look into nocturnal metabolism to get the complete around-the-clock picture, as well as taking the timing of interventions into account.

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