Sleep quality and fatigue among employees in a large university hospital

Introduction
Poor sleep quality and prolonged fatigue may affect health, work performance and may lead to sickness absence. The first goal of this study was to describe the prevalence of prolonged fatigue and poor sleep quality in hospital workers. The second objective was to study whether prolonged fatigue and sleep quality was influenced by work characteristics.

Methods
4467 employees of a large Belgian hospital were invited to fill out the Checklist Individual Strenght (CIS), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and a questionnaire concerning work-related characteristics.

Results
4130 employees completed the questionnaire (response rate 92%). 17,9 % of the questioned employees had signs of prolonged fatigue and 34,5 % had a poor sleep quality. The mean CIS score was 54,9 and the prevalence of prolonged fatigue (CIS>76) was 17,9%. The female gender (OR 1,78;CI 1,35-2,35), part-time work (OR 1,32; CI 1,08-1,60) and irregular work schedules (OR 2,77; CI 1,43-5,38) were positively associated with the prevalence of prolonged fatigue. The mean PSQI score was 5 and the prevalence PSQI>5 was 34,5%. A multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the female gender (OR 1,51;CI 1,20-1,90) was positively associated with the prevalence of poor sleep quality and that nurses had a higher prevalence of poor sleep quality compared to doctors. (OR 2,4;CI 1,38-3,02)

Discussion
These results are comparable with other studies. Insomnia affects up to 10% of the working population in Western industrialized countries. Women, part-time workers and employees with irregular work schedules are groups at risk to develop poor sleep quality and prolonged fatigue.