Prevalence and Related Factors of Insomnia Among Chinese Medical Staff in the Middle and Late Stage of COVID-19

Abstract

Background: The outbreak of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has brought serious psychological pressure to people, especially medical health staff. At present, there are few studies on insomnia and related factors of medical health staff in the middle and late stage of the epidemic of COVID-19. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of insomnia and its related risk factors among medical workers in China in the middle and later stage of COVID-19 epidemic, as well as the relationship between insomnia and psychological resilience.Methods: From February 14 to March 29, 2020, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among 606 medical staff in China through Ranxing Technology's “SurveyStar” network platform. All subjects were assessed with the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and simplified Chinese version of Connor-Davidson Resilience scale (CD-RISC-10).Results: In the middle and later stages of the COVID-19 outbreak, the incidence of insomnia among medical staff was 32.0%. Compared with non-insomnia group, the insomnia group had younger age, lower education level, longer daily working hours and less psychological resilience. In addition, the prevalence of insomnia was higher in medical staff with a history of somatic diseases. The severity of insomnia of Chinese medical staff was associated with age, education level, daily working hours, psychological resilience and somatic diseases.Conclusions: Our study shows that nearly 1/3 of Chinese medical workers suffer from insomnia nearly a month after the COVID-19 outbreak. Compared with the general population, medical staff who are working with COVID are more prone to insomnia. Risk factors for insomnia include younger age, lower education level, longer working hours per day, and physical illness. The tenacious dimension of psychological resilience is a protective factor for insomnia.

Association Between Perceived Stress and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Medical Staff During the COVID-19 Epidemic in Wuhan City

“…The scale is composed of seven items, which are rated using a five-point Likert-type scale (0 = no problem; 4 = very severe problem). The total scores range from 0 to 28 points and are categorized into no insomnia (0-7), subthreshold (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14), moderate (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21), and severe (22-28) forms of insomnia. The scale displayed high reliability and validity in other studies (37,38).…”

“…During the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak, insomnia was one of the main psychological conditions faced by the medical staff in Wuhan ( 15 ). Relevant research found that the prevalence of insomnia as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic among medical staff ranged from 32.0 to 49.9% ( 16 , 17 ), which suggested that insomnia exerted serious impacts on physical and mental health.…”

Psychological impact of COVID-19 on obstetrics and gynaecology residents in India

“…18,23,33,40 Fear of COVID-19 is positively correlated with psychological distress (p=0.638**, p<0.001) as well as insomnia (p=0.444**, p<0.001) which is also observed in similar studies. 18,22,25,29 The Kessler psychological distress scale is positively correlated with ISI (p=0.741%**, p<0.001). Previous study associates distress as a major factor for insomnia leading to burnout among healthcare professionals.…”

“…In another study from Chinese medical staff, the prevalence of insomnia among healthcare workers was 30% and a study during the early phase of the pandemic also highly suggested the symptoms of insomnia of the healthcare workers in the frontline in China. 25,26 A study on Nepalese healthcare workers reported that 33.9% suffered from insomnia. 27 Also, it was reported from a study in China that women healthcare workers were more vulnerable to clinical insomnia than their male counterparts during the pandemic.…”

“…A 5point Likert scale is used to rate each item (0-no problem to 4-very severe problem), yielding a total score ranging from 0-28. The score is interpreted as follows absence of insomnia (0-7), sub-threshold insomnia (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14), moderate insomnia (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21) and severe insomnia (22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28).…”