Association between sleep disturbance and mental health of healthcare workers: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

ObjectivesSleep disturbance and mental health are challenges for healthcare workers (HCWs). Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, they experienced more severe sleep and mental health problems. However, the association between sleep disturbance and the mental health of HCWs is still controversial. This study aimed to systematically review the relationship by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis.MethodTwo researchers retrieved the literature from Web of Science, PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Psyclnfo, and Cochrane Library from the establishment of the databases until November 20, 2021. We used the New Castle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to evaluate the risk of bias in prospective research and cross-sectional research, respectively. The major exposure was HCWs’ sleep disturbance, and the major outcome was mental health. The correlation coefficients (r), regression coefficients (β) and odds ratios (OR) of the included studies were integrated.ResultFifty-nine studies were included for qualitative analysis, of which 30 studies could be combined and entered into quantitative analysis. There were 23 studies during the COVID-19 pandemic among the 59 included studies. The results of the meta-analysis showed that the correlation coefficient between sleep disturbance and mental health was 0.43 (95% CI: 0.39–0.47). HCWs with sleep disturbance had a 3.74 (95% CI: 2.76–5.07) times higher risk of mental health problems than those without sleep disturbance. The correlation coefficient during the COVID-19 epidemic was 0.45 (95% CI: 0.37–0.53), while it was 0.40 (95% CI: 0.36–0.44) during the non-epidemic period. Subgroup analysis compared the OR results in epidemic and non-epidemic periods of COVID-19, which were 4.48 (95% CI: 2.75–5.07) and 3.74 (95% CI: 2.74–7.32), respectively.ConclusionSleep disturbance and mental health problems were positively correlated among HCWs. Particularly in the COVID-19 pandemic, more attention should be given to this issue.

Sleep Disturbance and Occupational Fatigue in Emergency Nurses of Public Hospitals in Greece

“…Similar findings were reported by Dong, Zhang, Zhu, and Lv (2020). Other studies have shown similar findings, with systematic reviews and meta-analyses showing even lower SD (Liu et al, 2022). The high prevalence of SD among nurses is due to work shifts and it seems that globally there is a lack of a system of proper shift distribution to ensure nurses a smooth circadian rhythm and avoid additional mental and physical strain resulting from poor sleep quality (Slavish et al, 2020).…”

Prevalence of sleep disturbances among emergency response team paramedics working in shift systems

“…Shift work increases the risk of cardiovascular and digestive system disorders, sleep disturbances, neuropsychiatric disorders, and chronic pain, and is related to a higher incidence of accidents at work and lower work satisfaction among employees. In the context of paramedics undertaking shift work, there is a limited number of health consequences documented [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27].…”

Sleep Quality between Nurses and the General Population during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Portugal: What Are the Differences?

“…Some of those factors are related to their mental health, as the correlation between sleep and mental health has been shown in recent years [ 21 , 22 ]. The positive correlation between sleep disturbances and mental health problems was confirmed by a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies involving healthcare workers conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 23 ]. Nonetheless, it is relevant to note that, according to that systematic review [ 23 ], some conditions faced by healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as exposition to the disease, the possible transmission of infection to family members, shortage of personal protective equipment, extended working hours, and decisions about allocating limited resources to patients, also presented a risk of adverse mental health.…”

“…The positive correlation between sleep disturbances and mental health problems was confirmed by a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies involving healthcare workers conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 23 ]. Nonetheless, it is relevant to note that, according to that systematic review [ 23 ], some conditions faced by healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as exposition to the disease, the possible transmission of infection to family members, shortage of personal protective equipment, extended working hours, and decisions about allocating limited resources to patients, also presented a risk of adverse mental health. Although definitive conclusions regarding bidirectionality cannot be made for most sleep disturbances, the best available evidence suggests that some of the disturbances, such as insomnia, are bidirectionally related to mental health problems such as anxiety and depression [ 24 ].…”