Summary
Nurses and nursing aides (n = 418) currently working on a regular evening or day schedule were compared in terms of sleep disorder symptoms. The relationship between past nightwork and sleep disorder symptoms was also assessed. The prevalence of individual symptoms varied from 6 to 53%. Evening workers showed a pattern of sleep disorder compatible with sleep deprivation, whereas the pattern for day workers was more compatible with insomnia. Past nightwork was significantly associated with symptoms of day tiredness and the quantity of sleep obtained was influenced by past nightwork. The prevalence of a combination of four insomnia symptoms (initial, intermittent, and terminal insomnia and fatigue during the day) was 5.4% among current day workers but no cases were identified among evening workers. Among day workers, the trend for insomnia across levels of duration of past nightwork fell slightly short of conventional statistical significance (P = 0.09). The relationship between a combination of four symptoms was neither modified nor confounded by variables such as age, chronotype, intensity of past nightwork, and latency. In conclusion, although some sleep symptoms were associated with nightwork, a clear residual effect on a combination of symptoms could not be shown.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Åkerstedt T (1984) Work schedules and sleep. Experentia 40:417–422
Åkerstedt T (1988) Sleepiness as a consequence of shiftwork. Sleep 11:17–34
Åkerstedt T, Torsvall T (1985) Napping in shiftwork. Sleep 8:105–109
Angersbach D, Knauth P, Loskant H, Karnoven MJ, Undeutsch K, Rutenfranz J (1980) A retrospective cohort study comparing complaints and diseases in day and shift workers. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 45:127–140
Benoit O (1981) Le sommeil normal et pathologique chez l'adulte. Encycl Medico-Chirurg (Paris) 4:1–14
Bixler ED, Kales A, Soldatos CR, Kales JD, Healey S (1979) Prevalence of sleep disorders in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Am J Psychiatry 136:1257–1262
Cervinka R, Kundi M, Koller M, Haider M (1986) Shiftwork effects on retired workers. In: Haider M, Koller M, Cervinka R (eds) Night and shiftwork: longterm effects and their prevention. Studies in industrial and organizational psychology 3. Verlag Peter Lang, Frankfurt/aM, pp 93–100
Foret J, Bensimon G, Benoit O, Vieux N (1981) Quality of sleep as a function of age and shiftwork. In: Reinberg A, Vieux N, Andlauer P (eds) Night and shiftwork: biological and social aspects. Pergamon Press, Oxford, pp 149–154
Gadbois C (1981) Women on night shift: interdependence of sleep and off-the-job activities. In: Reinberg A, Vieux N, Andlauer P (eds) Advances in the biosciences 30. Pergamon Press, Oxford, pp 223–227
Gislason T, Almqvist M (1987) Somatic diseases and sleep complaints. An epidemiological study of 3201 Swedish men. Acta Med Scand 221:475–481
Hammond EC (1964) Some preliminary findings on physical complaints from a prospective study of 1,064,004 men and women. Am J Public Health 54:11–23
Hildebrandt G (1986) Individual differences in susceptibility to night and shiftwork. In: Haider M, Koller M, Cervinka R (eds) Night and shiftwork: longterm effects and their prevention. Studies in industrial and organizational psychology 3, Verlag Peter Lang, Frankfurt/aM, pp 109–116
Institute of Medicine (1979) Report of a study: sleeping pills, insomnia, and medical practice. Publication IOM-79-04. National Academy of Sciences, Washington
Jenkins CD, Stanton BA, Niemcryk SJ, Rose RM (1988) A scale for the estimation of sleep problems in clinical research. J Clin Epidemiol 41:313–321
Karacan I, Thomby JI, Anch M (1976) Prevalence of sleep disturbance in a primarily urban Florida county. Soc Sci Med 10:239–244
Knauth P, Rutenfranz J (1987) Shiftwork. In: Harrington JM (ed) Recent advances in occupational health. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, pp 263–281
Knauth P, Landau K, Droge C, Schwitteck M, Widynski M, Rutenfranz J (1980) Duration of sleep depending on the type of shift work. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 46:166–177
Knutsson A, Åkerstedt T, Jonsson BG, Orth-Gomer K (1986) Increased risk of ischaemic heart disease in shift workers. Lancet ii:89–91
Koller M (1983) Health risks related to shiftwork. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 53:59–75
Kundi M (1986) Longterm adaptation to shiftwork. In: Haider M, Koller M, Cervinka R (eds) Night and shiftwork: longterm effects and their prevention. Studies in industrial and organizational psychology 3. Verlag Peter Lang, Frankfurt/aM, pp 59–65
Kundi M, Koller M, Cervinka R, Haider M (1986) Health and psychological aspects of shiftwork: results of a 5 year follow-up. In: Haider M, Koller M, Cervinka R (eds) Night and shiftwork: longterm effects and their prevention. Studies in industrial and organizational psychology 3. Verlag Peter Lang, Frankfurt/aM, pp 81–92
Michel-Briand C, Chopard JL, Guiot A, Paulmier M, Studer G (1981) The pathological consequences of shift work in retired workers. In: Reinberg A, Vieux N, Andlauer P (eds) Night and shiftwork: biological and social aspects. Advances in the Biosciences 30. Pergamon Press, Oxford, pp 399–407
Rothman KJ (1986) Modern epidemiology. Little, Brown & Company, Boston
Rothman KJ, Boice JD (1979) Epidemiologic analysis with a programmable calculator. NIH Pub No 79-1649. US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Washington
Sackett DL (1979) Bias in analytic research. J Chron Dis 32:51–63
Verhaegen P, Cober R, De Smedt M, Dirkk J, Kerstens J, Ryvers D, Van De Daele P (1987) The adaptation of night nurses to different work schedules. Ergonomics 30:1301–1309
Webb WB (1983) Are there permanent effects of night shiftwork on sleep? Biol Psychol 16:273–283
Wynne RF, Ryan GM, Cullen JH (1986) Adjustment to shiftwork and its prediction: results from a longitudinal study. In: Haider M, Koller M, Cervinka R (eds) Night and shiftwork: longterm effects and their prevention. Studies in industrial and organizational psychology 3. Verlag Peter Lang, Frankfurt/aM, pp 101–108
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This project was supported by a grant from L'Institut de Recherche en Sante et Securite du Travail du Quebec
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Infante-Rivard, C., Dumont, M. & Montplaisir, J. Sleep disorder symptoms among nurses and nursing aides. Int. Arch Occup Environ Heath 61, 353–358 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00409392
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00409392