Correlation between shift work and sleep disorders of medical staff in tertiary hospitals

Background Shift work is particularly common among medical staff, and may have an adverse impact on sleep quality.

Objective This investigation evaluates the sleep quality of medical staff and explores the relationship between shift work and sleep disorders.

Methods Questionnaires were distributed to medical staff in five grade-A tertiary hospitals in Lanzhou between November 10, 2019 and January 19, 2020 by means of convenient sampling. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Scale was used to assess the sleep quality among health care workers. Descriptive analysis was used to describe the basic information of medical staff and to compare the sleep disorders among different characteristic groups; logistic regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between shift work and sleep disorders in total participants and subgroups by gender, work type, and staffing respectively.

Results A total of 1 623 medical staff were included, of whom 1 027 were suffering from sleep disorders, including 883 women; The prevalence of sleep disorders was higher among nurses (730, 71.08%). The average ages and shift years of medical staff with sleep disorder were (31.67±6.98) and (6.85±6.30) years. The detection rates of sleep disorders were different among medical staff with different genders, ages, work types, educational levels, professional titles, staffing, years of shift, smoking, alcohol drinking, and physical exercise status (P < 0.05). The medical staff with different shift years showed differences in the scores of seven dimensions and total PSQI (P < 0.05). Compared with those without shift work, the ORs (95% CIs) of sleep disorders among medical staff who worked shifts < 5, 5- < 10, 10- < 15, and ≥ 15 years were 2.38 (1.71-3.32), 2.74 (1.91-3.93), 2.57 (1.61-4.10), and 1.87 (1.05-3.30), respectively (P < 0.05). The relationship between shift work and sleep disorders also varied by work type, gender, and staffing of medical personnel:higher risks of sleep disorders in doctors who worked shifts < 5 and 10- < 15 years than in those did not (P < 0.05); higher risks in nurses, females, and permanent or contract medical staff with < 5, 5- < 10, and 10- < 15 years of work shift than in those without, respectively (P < 0.05).

Conclusion There is a correlation between shift work and the prevalence of sleep disorders among medical staff. Shift work is an important risk factor for sleep disorders.