[Prevalence of sleep disturbance in intensive care nurses: a post hoc analysis of a cross-sectional study]

Intensive care nurses have irregular and unusual working hours due to shift work, which can disrupt the natural light-dark rhythm and thus increase the risk for sleep disorders.

The aim of this post hoc analysis was to investigate the prevalence of self-reported sleep problems and associated factors among intensive care nurses working in Germany.

This analysis was a post hoc analysis of a cross-sectional study, which was performed as an online survey. Collected data were sociodemographic, work-related and health-related data. These data were used to calculate the prevalence and respective 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of sleep problems. Factors associated with sleep problems were identified using the χ²-test, Fisher's exact test, and logistic regression analysis.

The link to the online survey was accessed 1163 times and 490 intensive care nurses participated in the survey. A total of 432 intensive care nurses were included in this analysis, of whom 82.87% were women. A total of 57.64% (95% CI: 52.83-62.35%) reported sleep problems. Significantly associated with sleep problems were age (50-59 years odds ratio [OR]: 2.05, 95% CI: 1.00-4.21, p = 0.047 vs. 20-29 years) and living in a family (OR: 0.50, 95% CI: 0.27-0.93, p = 0.029 vs. single/living alone). In addition, depression (OR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.06-1.12, p ≤ 0.001), anxiety (OR: 1.10, 95% CI: 1.06-1.14, p ≤ 0.001) and stress (OR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.06-1.12, p ≤ 0.001) levels were significantly associated with sleep problems.

Sleep problems were present in one out of every two participating intensive care nurses and in particular mental health was associated with sleep problems.