White Blood Cell Count and Sleep Difficulty Examined by the Athens Insomnia Scale in Shift Workers~!2010-01-07~!2010-02-04~!2010-03-16~!

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the relation between sleep difficulty and white blood cell (WBC) count in shift workers. This was a cross-sectional study in male Japanese workers at a synthetic fiber plant. The subjects were 212 male workers who underwent an annual workplace health checkup in April 2007. For the WBC count the blood test value from the health checkup was used. With regard to insomnia, subjects were asked the first 5 of the 8 questions on the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS). An increased WBC count was associated with total AIS score (p<0.05) and work pattern (shift work) (p<0.05) in addition to smoking (p<0.001), fasting blood sugar (p<0.01), and BMI (p<0.05). In shift workers, the WBC count was related with total AIS score (p<0.05) and those with higher total AIS score tended to have an increased WBC count (p<0.01). In daytime workers, the count was not associated with AIS score. The present results have shown that shift workers with sleeping problems are more likely to have higher WBC counts, which might suggest low-grade inflammatory changes in those workers. Quality sleep may be necessary for shift workers in particular.

Sleep Quality of Call Handlers Employed in International Call Centers in National Capital Region of Delhi, India

“…The scores were then graded as follows: score <4 “no sleep problem,” score 4 or 5 “some suspicion of insomnia,” and score ≥6 “suspected insomnia.” The Athens Insomnia Scale has shown good reliability and validity. 10,11…”

Association of Psychological Stress Response of Fatigue with White Blood Cell Count in Male Daytime Workers

“…In that study, shift workers had higher WBC counts than daytime workers, which may be attributable to poor sleep/fatigue 3 ) . In another study, higher WBC counts were more frequently found in shift workers who are suffering from sleep problems compared to those without such problems 13 ) . However, such findings were not observed in daytime workers with sleeping problems in the present study.…”

Study to Assess the Sleep Quality of Call Handlers in Teynampet Call Center

“…Ambitious youngsters, as early as 15 years of age, are attracted to the seemingly lucrative call center job as they offer an interesting work environment, an attractive lifestyle and decent emoluments. 7,10,13 This is evident in our study wherein majority of call handlers27 (45%),samples were under the age group of 20-24yeras The proportion of female call handlers was less as compared to males. Majority 40 (66.7%) was married.…”

“…The Athens Insomnia Scale has shown good reliability and validity. 10,11 The Oslo-3 scale was used to describe the level of social support among call handlers. 12 This scale incorporates three components covering different fields of social support giving a total score ranging from 3-14.…”

“…Disruption in family life and lack of socialization due to odd shift timings were reported more among women employees as they had to balance between the dual burden of work and home. 10 Insomnia is the most prevalent sleep disorders among the call handlers. The estimated prevalence of difficulty in initiating and maintaining sleep is about 30%.…”