Association between Occupational Accidents and Sleep Apnea in Hospital Staff

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a common disorder in which instability of the upper airways leads to a reduction or cessation of airflow during sleep. Sleep disorders such as OSAS increase the risk of occupational accidents and impaired work performance. Sleep deprivation during shift increases the risk of occupational accidents among health care employees. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between occupational injuries in hospital staff and the risk of sleep apnea.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on hospital staff of Masih Daneshvari Hospital in 2012. In this study, the hospital staff's (715) response to the Berlin questionnaire plus additional information including a history of an occupational accident, night shifts, less than four hours of night sleep, history of smoking, chronic disease and quality of sleep were assessed. Information obtained was analyzed using SPSS 15.

In general, 27.6% reported a history of occupational accidents. The incidence of occupational accidents in the high-risk group for sleep apnea was significantly higher than the low-risk group (OR=2.736, CI=1.522-4.917, P=0.001). The results of logistic regression analysis also showed a statistically significant association between occupational accidents and risk of sleep apnea (OR = 2.247, CI = 1.194-4.231, P= 0.012).

This study showed that the incidence of occupational accidents in the hospital employees is strongly related to the probability of OSA. Therefore, special attention should be directed to respiratory sleep disorders in order to reduce occupational injuries at hospitals.