[Sleep disorders and psycho-affective problems in paramedical personnel working an atypical schedule]

Shift work can cause health problems and sleep disorders and therefore affect mental health. These psycho-affective disorders can, in return, worsen sleep disorders and thus establish a vicious circle. The aims of our study were to assess the frequency of sleep and psycho-affective disorders among paramedical personnel doing shift work and to screen them for obstructive sleep apnoea-hypopnoea syndrome (OSA).

It was a cross-sectional study carried out among paramedical staff at the University Hospital Center Mongi Slim La Marsa in Tunis. Three questionnaires translated into Arabic (the Berlin questionnaire, the Spiegel questionnaire and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HAD]) were presented by the same investigator during the survey.

One hundred and fifty-eight paramedics were interviewed (46.2% were nurses, 23.4% were blue-collar workers, 19% were senior technicians and 11.4% were health care aides, midwives and physiotherapists). The average duration of shift work was 10.27 years, the average age was 36.48 years and there was a female prevalence of 70.9%. Sleep disorders were detected in 40.5% of the cases, OSA in 24%, anxiety in 53.2% and depression in 17.1%.

Sleep and psycho-affective disorders are frequent among paramedical personnel undertaking shift work in hospitals. Screening consultations in occupational medicine are necessary in order to detect these disorders at an early stage.